SAN JOSE, Calif. — Sweat was still clinging to Mike Reilly’s face, caking his hair, as he detailed his past four months after coming off the ice Saturday morning.
He was breathing hard — blood pumping, heart working. These are little miracles, the sort you only notice after a doctor tells you something might be off.
Reilly might now notice them for the rest of his life.
“It was tough,” said Reilly, who the Islanders activated off long-term injured reserve Saturday morning and could soon play for the first time since undergoing heart surgery. “There’s just so much time off. I felt like last year when I got here, I kinda got the love of the game back a little bit after a tough year with Florida. When I got here last year, I thought things went well, it was great, gonna build off that going into this year.
“Maybe as excited as I’ve been going into a year in some time. Obviously 10, 11 games in, it just takes a 180. So it’s tough.
“A lot of time on my hands. Gotta find a way to kill some time. For me the toughest thing was I couldn’t travel. So it was just me most of the time. It was tough. I had my parents come visit a couple times, brother, sister. Just little things like that means a lot. I’ve had a lot of people reach out, a lot of fans. Very grateful for that, people being in my corner.”
This all started with a concussion, when Reilly was knocked to the ice by Jordan Greenway on Nov. 1 against the Sabres and did not get up.
He was stretchered off, and the closest thing to a positive prognosis that night was Bo Horvat saying the team had been told Reilly was talking.
That did not end up as bad as it could have, with Reilly recovering within a few weeks.
Amid the process, though, tests turned up a heart abnormality, the specifics of which have been kept undisclosed.
It required surgery, and though Reilly was told — and the Islanders communicated right away — that it would not be career ending, or even a long-term issue, these things are, inherently, terrifying.
“Obviously I was going to see a specialist for my head,” Reilly said before the Islanders’ 4-2 win over the Sharks. “And then for something to come out of that a day later, something that was heart-related, it was crushing. Just when I got all that news, it was a lot.”
Reilly got back on the ice in mid-December, mostly skating on his own.
He started taking contact more recently, and started traveling when the Islanders went to Boston a few weeks ago.
Though he didn’t play against the Sharks after being activated Saturday — there’s no definitive plan yet for when he’ll return, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll feature in any games while the Islanders are in California — he will play this season.
“I feel like I’m ready to play,” Reilly said. “I haven’t been able to travel this year, so this is basically my first road trip. It feels good. Teammates have been there. It’s tough when you can’t travel with the team. There was some spurts where I’d be the only guy back, which is tough.
“Obviously we’ve had a lot of injuries. At times I’d be with another guy or two [back on Long Island]. As soon as [they] get back from the trip, they’re asking, checking in, seeing how I’m doing, making me feel a part of it. Obviously felt really good.”
There are hockey questions here, which seem almost absurd to worry about in this case.
How Reilly fits into a blue line that is now nine deep is something that can’t be answered yet.
Ditto for what he’ll look like after four-plus months off the ice.
The mere act of still being here is an overwhelming victory.
“It’s been a lot of work and a lot of unknown at times to see when I was gonna be back here,” Reilly said. “For me, my whole career, it hasn’t been smooth sailing at times. It’s become another bump in the road. Obviously this is all health-related, put your head down, keep working, honestly. That’s about the only thing I can control is my attitude, come to the rink with a smile on my face. It’ll be very special [to play again].”
Without Brock Nelson, the Islanders have a dearth of forwards.
They also have a surplus of defensemen, with nine on the active roster as of Saturday after Reilly was activated.
So expect some heavy rotation on the back end with perhaps the opposite dynamic playing out up front over the season’s final 21 games.
For Saturday’s win over the Sharks, which opened a three-game trip through California, Scott Mayfield, Scott Perunovich and Reilly were out, with Adam Boqvist drawing back in after sitting out Tuesday’s win over the Jets.
Right now, the dynamic seems to be that when the Islanders want offense, they are going with Boqvist, who can get in on the rush and play on the power play.
When their preference is for size and stability, they’re going with Mayfield.
Matt Martinwas activated off IR in addition to Reilly.
Marcus Hogberghas not yet been activated, though he continued to skate with the team Saturday morning.
