Cizikas Keeping Energy High as Ice Time Increases

Casey Cizikas is known for having a high motor - and it was put to the test on Thursday night.
Cizikas played a career-high 21:03 against the Pittsburgh Penguins, marking just the second time he'd eclipsed the 20-minute mark in his career. It's nearly a third over his season average of 14:36, which the center surpassed by the end of the second period (16:04 TOI).

"You don't really see forwards playing that much between two periods," Cizikas said. "Going into the third I just made sure that I got what I needed into my body to make me feel good."
For Cizikas, that's just some food and water. When you're as energetic as the 32-year-old, you don't really need a shot of caffeine - like a can of coke - between periods.
"I try to stay away from the sugary stuff," Cizikas said. "It doesn't really sit with me well during games. It's something I have found out early in my career. As good as it tastes, it's not for me."

Head Coach Lane Lambert said that Cizikas' increased usage was in part because the Isles were shorthanded - Cizikas played 4:50 on the penalty kill, his third most shorthanded ice time this season - and his strong play of late. Cizikas set up Hudson Fasching to spark the Islanders comeback with 5:29 to play and had a goal and an assist in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
"We had some kills where he was out there for lengths of time and played in some pretty critical situations," Lambert said. "There's no question he played a lot of minutes and there was a reason for it."
Cizikas average ice time (14:36) is at career-high under Lambert and has increased since Jean-Gabriel Pageau has been sidelined, jumping from 13:58 to 17:44. Regarding Thursday specifically, the coach thought Cizikas handled the 21-minute assignment well.
"It's not easy. It's not something that any player can really do over and over again, but I thought he did a great job of doing and handling it," Lambert said.
A few of Cizikas' teammates said he seemingly doesn't get tired, but Matt Martin, who has played over 5,400 minutes with Cizikas (at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick), had a slightly different take.

"He's tired after every one of his shifts," Martin said. "He gives it all he's got. I guess he recovers well because he goes back out there. He's right back at it. But he empties the tank every time he's out there."
Cizikas has 18 points (5G, 13A) in 66 games this season, his highest point total since a 20-goal, 33-point season in 2018-19. Cizikas' contributions go beyond the scoresheet, as he's one of the team's most used penalty killers, a responsibility that's also increased in the month Pageau has been sidelined.
"Obviously, being short Pager, there's been a heavy load on all of our centermen to kind of do different things and fill different voids," Martin said. "He's been a big reason why we've been able to survive this long."