Isles Day to Day: Resting and Recharging with Two Practice Days

During a crucial stretch of the season the New York Islanders were afforded a rare opportunity this week, holding two consecutive practice days before Thursday's game against Tampa Bay, the first of the final four games in the regular season.
"It gives us an opportunity to reset," Matt Martin said. "There are some parts of our game that need cleaning up, so we really focused on that in the last few days. We're trying to instill confidence heading into tomorrow night."

After back-to-back road games over the weekend, the Islanders had three days between games, their first such break since March 1-3. Considering they'd played 14 games in the previous 30 days - including a week-long trip to California and three back-to-backs - the days off offered a chance to recharge ahead of a big tilt on Thursday.
"We're trying to manage our rest and our workload, so it's been a good couple of days," Ryan Pulock said. "There are a few areas in our d-zone we're gotten away from in the last few games compared to how we were playing a few weeks ago. It's just recognizing that, making those tweaks and getting ready for tomorrow."

Head Coach Lane Lambert agreed said he was looking to up the pace during the Islanders two practices.
"We're trying to get our pace up a little bit," Lambert said. "It's good timing to have a couple of days to work on this in and practice things heading into these last four games."
The Islanders currently have 87 points and are holding the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Islanders have 39 regulation wins, one short of the Florida Panthers (87 points, 34 regulation wins), who occupy the first wild card spot. The Islanders and Panthers are tied in games played (78) and points, while the Pittsburgh Penguins loom closely with 86 points, one point out of playoff position.
The Islanders have gone 16-8-4 since January 27 to put themselves in this position at this point of the season, rebounding after a 2-8-3 stretch in January. The Islanders .643 points percentage is 10th in the NHL over that span. They've accomplished that by looking at each game individually and that's the mindset after two practice days heading into a rematch with the Bolts.
"We're getting some days off, which you don't get a lot of," Scott Mayfield said. "These games are just so important. It's pretty much playoffs for us, so get a little break here and just be ready for Thursday."

ENGVALL TAKES MAINTENANCE DAY

Pierre Engvall missed practice on Wednesday at Northwell Health Ice Center.
Engvall took a maintenance day, per Head Coach Lane Lambert. The 26-year-old winger was a full participant in Tuesday's practice.
Engvall has eight points (5G, 3A) in 14 games played for the Islanders. He has a combined 29 points (17G, 12A) on the season including his games played with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

ROMANOV DAY TO DAY WITH UBI

Alexander Romanov missed his second consecutive practice and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The 23-year-old defenseman has 22 points (2G, 20A) through 76 games played in his first season with the Islanders.

BARZAL SKATING ON HIS OWN, NO UPDATED TIMEFRAME

Lambert said that while Mathew Barzal has been skating on his own, he does not have a timeline for when he will be able to join the team for practice. Barzal has been out of the lineup since Feb. 18.
"He's skating, so that's very positive for us," Lambert said on Wednesday. "But as far as actually joining the team, we don't have
a timeframe yet."