Maybe the biggest beneficiary of the Islanders’ long break is winger Cal Clutterbuck, who returned to practice Monday for the first time since he left Game 4 of the opening-round series against the Penguins this past Tuesday.
The undisclosed injury could very well have kept Clutterbuck out of the lineup if the Islanders had not swept the Penguins and earned themselves more than a week off. But now with some time to heal behind him, Clutterbuck seemed optimistic about returning.
“You can look at it from both sides. Our choice is to look at it from the positive side, and that’s — myself especially — I was able to get a couple days that, had we not had the time, probably would have resulted in some lost [playing] time,” he said. “I’m just taking it a day at a time here. Felt good enough [Monday] to go practice with the guys, I felt pretty good out there. That’s where I’m at right now.”
He is also an indispensable part of what coach Barry Trotz has now dubbed the “identity line,” with Matt Martin and Casey Cizikas. Besides playing with them at even-strength, Clutterbuck is also part of both specialty units.
“I just think that when Clutter is not there, you notice. He’s such a useful player,” Trotz said. “There are so many layers to his game that when you look at the stats [eight goals, 23 points in 73 regular-season games], you go, ‘Eh, I don’t know.’ But there is more importance to his overall contribution and there are a lot of those areas where there are not a lot of stats. He’s a valuable guy for us, no question.”
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Defenseman Scott Mayfield also returned to practice for the first time since the first round ended, going right back into his spot on the right side next to Devon Toews.
“That’s what you get when you finish out a series early,” Mayfield said. “We closed it out early, guys get time to get healthy and everyone take a little rest. Rest is a weapon, I think, especially in the playoffs.”
With the full complement of players on the ice, it seemed like Trotz was set with his lineup, including lefty-shot defenseman Thomas Hickey on the right side next to Nick Leddy.
It also looked like Michael Dal Colle and Ross Johnston would be out up-front, while Tom Kuhnhackl would stay in his role on the right side of the line with Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson.