PHILADELPHIA — Isaiah George, just 32 games into his NHL career, would like to find some more consistency at this level.
Never mind the old cliché that it takes a defenseman 100-plus games to adapt to the highest level of the sport.
George, who snapped up a spot on the Islanders blue line after a November call-up, is not grading himself on a curve.
“I think I just haven’t been too consistent right now,” George told The Post on Thursday morning. “Good games and a couple off games. Just finding that consistency will be big. Just go from there.”
That was before George suffered a second straight off night, sitting the final 33:02 of the Islanders’ 3-0 win over the Flyers after struggling his way through five shifts.
Given that George had similar struggles two nights prior against Colorado, getting hemmed into the offensive zone throughout the second period before sitting most of the third, it would not be too much of a surprise to see Dennis Cholowski in the lineup Saturday in Tampa.
After looking unflappable upon his call-up earlier this season, this represents a speed bump for George. It is to be expected of any young player, but how he responds will be critical.
“I always watch [the tape], always see, ’cause when you’re out on the ice, sometimes not everything’s how it seems,” George said. “Sometimes you think something was there and it wasn’t or vice versa.”
George’s attitude, though, continues to impress.
“He’s very good when he moves that puck quick,” coach Patrick Roy said before the game. “When he starts to play east-west or even bringing it back south, it’s a little tougher. But he’s 20 years old. Are you kidding me? To me, it’s a phenomenal experience for him. He could not ask for any better.
“I love the fact that even if he’s making mistakes, he’s capable of coming back and playing harder the next one and that shows character to me. And that’s what you want to know. How many guys are going out there and making a mistake and being afraid just being on the ice they’ll make another one? I like him a lot. He hasn’t been perfect. Nobody is. He’s bouncing back.”
In a sign that neither Marcus Hogberg (upper body) nor Semyon Varlamov (lower body) is expected back in the near term, Roy said the expectation is for the organization’s fourth-string goalie, Jakub Skarek, to play at some point.
“When? We don’t know. But he will play,” Roy said. “As of right now, Ilya [Sorokin]’s playing really well.”
The Islanders sent Hudson Fasching (upper body) to AHL Bridgeport on a conditioning assignment.
