The New York Islanders were back at Northwell Health Ice Center for practice on Monday after their 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Notably, defenseman Adam Pelech was not on the ice due to a maintenance day, but Head Coach Pete DeBoer said he expects him to play against the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.
DeBoer said Mat Barzal skated on his own once again on Monday and continues to work his way back from his lower-body injury.
The Isles maintained the same forward lines as the second half of Saturday’s game against the Lightning after swapping Ondřej Palát and Simon Holmström.
DeBoer said having Holmström in a checking role is a byproduct of a mental reset and wanting him to focus on the little details of his game instead of worrying about scoring goals or making flashy offensive plays.
DeBoer called Holmström "an honest player" and said that he’s been hindered mentally by the lofty standards he’s set for himself. DeBoer said having Holmström alongside Casey Cizikas can help unlock the 25-year-old – who scored 19 goals last season – the same way he’s helped Palát and Matias Maccelli have strong starts to the year.
“Let's concentrate on getting to pucks first, getting in the battle, winning the battle,” DeBoer said about what he wants to see from Holmström. “The end result is the goal(s) and the points and rightfully so, he’s put a lot of pressure on himself to score early in the season. It's been no secret that we've talked about we need more scoring on everyone, we need everybody to take a step. That's a lot of pressure to deal with so again just a mental reset to put the process ahead of the result.”
Here’s more from Monday’s practice.
