Isles Day to Day: Ritchie In, MacLean Out Against Blackhawks

The New York Islanders hit the ice for morning skate at United Center on Tuesday ahead of their game against the Chicago Blackhawks. See below for lines, news and quotes.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Emil Heineman - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal
Anders Lee - JG Pageau - Jonathan Drouin
Max Shabanov - Cal Ritchie - Simon Holmstrom
Anthony Duclair - Casey Cizikas - Marc Gatcomb

Matthew Schaefer - Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech - Tony DeAngelo
Marshall Warren - Scott Mayfield

David Rittich

LINEUP CHANGES

Head Coach Patrick Roy shuffled all four lines ahead of Tuesday’s contest against the Chicago Blackhawks, saying it felt like the right time for the team to try new combinations.

“The reason is just, we want to try different things all year,” Roy said. “We talk about it and we’ll continue to do it.”

Mathew Barzal shifted back to wing as he was elevated to a line with Bo Horvat and Emil Heineman. As a result, JG Pageau will center a line with Anders Lee and Jonathan Drouin. Cal Ritchie, who missed Sunday’s 4-2 loss as a healthy scratch, will return to the lineup. The 20-year-old center will skate on a line with Max Shabanov and Simon Holmstrom.

Roy said the reasoning to reunite Barzal and Horvat had to do with getting Ritchie back in the lineup as a center.

Anthony Duclair will play with Casey Cizikas and Marc Gatcomb, and Kyle MacLean will sit as a healthy scratch as a result. Roy called it a “tough decision” to break up the fourth line of Cizikas, Gatcomb and MacLean.

“It was a tough decision, I won’t lie,” Roy said. “I thought Anthony Duclair had a great game against Columbus. There are going to be decisions like this, and we do what we think is right for the team, but at the same time, everyone’s playing well.”

RITTICH TO START

David Rittich is expected to make his fifth straight on Tuesday. Rittich is 9-4-2 this season, along with a 2.30 GAA and a .919 SV% and two shutouts.

There is no update on Ilya Sorokin (IR), who has missed four games with a nagging injury.

PELECH AND PULOCK TO PLAY 600TH GAME

Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock will play their 600th NHL game on Tuesday, all with the Islanders.

“They’ve given everything to this organization,” Casey Cizikas said. “It’s a milestone to be extremely proud of. We’re excited for them and we’re proud of them. It’s going to be a fun night.”

It’s a special milestone to hit at the same time for the longtime teammates, who have spent the majority of their careers playing on a pair.

“He’s been there every step of the way for me,” Pelech said of Pulock. “We’ve been d-partners for a long time. We’ve become great friends, our families are really close. I’m lucky to made such great friends like him over the years.”

Pelech and Pulock were roommates in their rookie year in Bridgeport for the 2013-14 season. Pelech was the chef for the two of them, while Pulock said he did the majority of the cleaning in those days.

“We were young kids, 20 years old, trying to figure it out and make it work,” Pulock said. “I feel like we’ve come a long way, we’ve matured a lot. That was just the beginning, and here we are, years later and still playing together.”