It took longer than the Islanders would have hoped, but they finally had a full roster of players on the ice for practice on Wednesday.
Kyle Palmieri, who missed the opening weeks of training camp with an undisclosed injury, rejoined the group ahead of the last two preseason games on Thursday and Friday.
Though it is not yet clear whether Palmieri will play against the Flyers or Devils, the prognosis for his opening night availability is good with 10 days to go before the Sabres visit UBS Arena.
“I think I’d like to get into a [preseason] game,” Palmieri said. “But if that doesn’t happen, I don’t think it makes too much of a difference as far as working towards the season opener.”
Palmieri, who played 55 games last year after suffering back-to-back upper-body injuries, has yet to stay healthy for a full season with the Islanders.
The 32-year-old has traditionally scored around 25 goals per season, but netted just 15 and 16 in his two years on the Island.
“Number one goal is to try and get healthy and stay healthy,” Palmieri said. “I think that’s something that, it hasn’t been the easiest year for me injury-wise. Going back, it’s the stuff I dealt with last year and then obviously missing the first part of camp here, it’s not ideal and it’s tough.”
The good news for Palmieri is that there is not much ambiguity as to where he slots into the lineup.
Along with Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson, Palmieri helped form a second line that helped lead the Islanders down the stretch last year, outsourcing the opposition 15-4.
This being Engvall’s first training camp with the Islanders, a healthy Palmieri would have been ideal for chemistry-building purposes. But the on-ice rapport among the trio was already high last year.
“I think we worked hard and I think Palmieri’s a great player,” Engvall said. “Battling hard, he wins his battles and he has good playmaking [ability], too. I think the same goes for Nelson — good skater, good hockey sense. I think we’re finding each other good on the ice.”
Palmieri’s return also heightens a four-way battle for what is now two everyday lineup spots among Oliver Wahlstrom, Hudson Fasching, Simon Holmstrom and Julien Gauthier.
All four players can be on the 23-man roster — though Holmstrom’s waivers-exempt status means Ross Johnston may make it over him — but if the Islanders are healthy, two will be healthy scratches on opening night.
In Wednesday’s practice, Holmstrom skated on the top line to Bo Horvat’s left and Wahlstrom on the third line to Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s right. Fasching and Gauthier, though, both took turns rotating in.
“I just think anybody who’s fighting for a position and for a spot has to continue doing — I think they’ve done a good job to this point — they just have to continue doing what they do,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Play their game, don’t overthink things and just control what you can control.”
Lambert held open the possibility of some players participating in both remaining preseason contests despite them being back-to-back.
Though the Islanders have another week of practices following Friday’s game against New Jersey, those games will be the best chance for any of those players to make a statement.
Palmieri, despite his stated preference to play in one of the two, is not about to rush things.
“Taking it day by day right now and trying to work and get into the swing of things,” he said. “Been skating by myself for a couple weeks now, so it’s something that you don’t want to bite off more than you can chew too early and put yourself in a bad spot. Skated Monday with the non-game group and skated today with the group.
“As long as I keep feeling good, I’ll keep going.”