LAS VEGAS — The value of a player like Matt Martin sometimes becomes more clear when he’s not in the lineup.
That was the case in Colorado on Tuesday after Samuel Girard laid out Robert Bortuzzo with a hit along the wall, eliciting little response from the Islanders. Two days later, Martin was right back in the lineup after having been a healthy scratch for five of seven games.
“I just think I know what I bring to the table as a player,” the 34-year-old Martin told The Post ahead of Saturday’s game against the Golden Knights. “I think I’ve been doing it for a long time. I think they know as well what I bring as a player. So I just try to worry about those things and when your name’s called upon, you can go out and try and play a good game.”
The combination of injury and being scratched meant that Saturday was just the 18th game Martin has played this season. His time on ice is the lowest it has been since he returned to the Islanders in 2018 as well.
His spot in the lineup is no longer guaranteed on a nightly basis on a team for which Hudson Fasching has shown himself perfectly capable of playing a straight-line game in the bottom-six.
But there is still value in the physicality Martin brings.
That was confirmed not just when Martin was out of the lineup but when he returned in Thursday’s 5-1 win over the Coyotes, reuniting the Identity Line on an evening in which it was typically effective.
The trio of Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck is not the nightly machine it once was.
But it does hold a 51.39 expected goals percentage this season, and has been on the ice for just two goals against over 16 games.
They are not running on empty. Neither is Martin, whether playing every night or not.
“Those decisions are out of my control at the end of the day. You try not to focus on that stuff too much,” Martin said. “I think as I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten better at that. Obviously I’ve been healthy-scratched different times throughout my career. Really just try to focus on your day-to-day.
“Generally you’re always gonna get another opportunity sooner or later. It’s our responsibility as players to be prepared for that. Doesn’t make it easy but certainly you gotta keep your mind right and continue to prepare, be a good teammate, do the right things that way. It’s never easy [to be scratched], you never want to be out of the lineup. You come back in, you gotta do what you can to make that impression.”
The context around Martin’s role, combined with him being on the last year of his contract at age 34, lends itself not just to questions about trying to compete for playing time but about his future.
There is every chance this season could be the last ride for the player who has spent 13 of his 15 seasons on Long Island and helped drive the best fourth line in hockey.
Even with a two-year hiatus in Toronto, few players have been as synonymous with the Islanders over the last decade. Few have been as integral to the team’s renaissance that began when Lou Lamoriello took over the reins in 2018 and brought Martin back with him from Toronto.
“Haven’t really thought about it to this point. Obviously people ask [about the future],” Martin said. “Not only [reporters], even friends and family ask about it. But I have no idea how I’m gonna feel in five months. I’m just focused on tonight, focused on what we want to do as a team. Everything else will just play itself out when the time comes.”