Isles Day to Day: Cizikas and Nelson to Return vs Devils

Casey Cizikas and Brock Nelson were both activated on Saturday morning and will play
vs the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night
.
Cizikas was activated from non-roster status after entering COVID-19 Protocol on Nov. 27, while Nelson was activated off the team's IR list after suffering a lower-body injury on Nov. 21. Cizikas said he had some symptoms of COVID-19 and was excited to rejoin the group.
"It's not fun watching games, you want to be out there with the guys and want to come to the rink and just be around them," Cizikas said. "It's not fun being at home watching on your couch, so I'm excited to be back here and get this thing going."

Nelson was also excited to return to action, as the injury and rehab process was relatively new to the durable center. Nelson had played 316 consecutive games prior to getting hurt, the second-longest ironman streak in team history.
"I've never had to deal with any injuries luckily, so kind of the first time and the docs did a great job to assess it right away and get me back to feeling good," Nelson said. "Missing time isn't fun, watching games. It's a different game watching up top, you want to be involved and in the mix and get the juices going and help the team win."
Nelson's nine goals still lead the Islanders, while Cizikas boasts a 54.2 FOW%.

CZARNIK AND KOIVULA TO BRIDGEPORT:

In a corresponding move, Otto Koivula and Austin Czarnik were returned on loan to Bridgeport. Czarnik recorded three points (1G, 2A) in four games, while Koivula, who was recalled on Nov. 24, had one assist in three games. Czarnik's goal was his first since Oct. 24, 2019.
Head Coach Barry Trotz said he was impressed with Czarnik's play during his recall since joining the team on Dec. 4.
"I liked Austin's game," Trotz said. "He gave us energy and reliable play. Positionally he cleaned up a lot of stuff and he was productive offensively. He made some plays, he got a goal. That was a really tough send-down if you will just because of the roster, getting two centermen back and then some of our wingers that have been starting to go a little bit. Just to make it work we'd have to send Czarnik back, but trust me, he made a very good impression and he should be happy with his recall and it gives us a great option if things fall off a little bit, there's a great option to pull up because he did a really good job. His job now is to carry that momentum in Bridgeport so that it makes it hard for us to have him down there."

PULOCK NOT SKATING:

With Cizikas and Nelson returning, Ryan Pulock remains the only Islander out with an injury. The defenseman suffered a lower-body injury on Nov. 15 in Tampa Bay and was expected to be sidelined four-to-six weeks. Per Trotz, Pulock has not yet resumed skating.
"He's just going through his protocols of where he is in his development from injury to recovery to being able to do some therapy to eventually getting on the ice," Trotz said. "He's not on the ice yet."
Pulock had two assists in 12 games prior to getting hurt and was averaging 21:07 TOI/GP.

TOY DRIVE AT UBS ARENA:

The New York Islanders, in partnership with the John Theissen Children's Foundation and supported by Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty, are holding a holiday toy collection on Saturday, December 11th 2021 from 5 pm to puck drop outside of UBS Arena.
Fans who donate four or more new, unwrapped toys can score a 25% off coupon for the Isles Lab Team Store or Pro Shop!\
\While supplies last. See voucher for details.