Cizikas Earns Third Iron Man Mask as Islanders Top Stars 2-1

The stat sheet doesn’t always tell the full story of a game, and that was certainly the case at UBS Arena on Thursday night. While Casey Cizikas didn’t notch a point in the New York Islanders’ 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars, his endless effort earned him his third Iron Man mask as the Islanders player of the game. 

“He’s playing with so much energy and passion [and] that’s fun to watch,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said after Thursday night’s win. 

Cizikas finished the night with one shot on goal, three hits and went 3-for-4 in the faceoff circle on a line with Kyle MacLean and Marc Gatcomb. 

“That fourth line brought us energy forechecking [and] creating chances, and we kind of built on that,” Ryan Pulock said.

The Cizikas line nearly were rewarded with a goal, but Jake Oettinger flashed the leather to rob Kyle MacLean on the doorstep in the third period. Roy has taken notice of these chances from their grinder line. 

“It's incredible, the chances that they generate,” Roy said. “I'm thinking about MacLean when their goalie made a super nice save on the glove side, Gatcomb all alone in front of the net with the tip [and] Casey had a two on one.” 

Cizikas last scored in the Isles’ 3-2 win over the Calgary Flames on Mar. 14. He has 16 points (8G, 8A) through 71 games in his 15th season on Long Island.  

Ilya Sorokin was the most recent Iron Man mask recipient before Cizikas.