Friday’s preseason match against the Devils was the last ride for the prospects.
Islanders coach Patrick Roy said he plans to use the Islanders’ full lineup in the team’s final two preseason games after the first four featured lineups with a mix of NHLers and prospects who likely will start the season in AHL Bridgeport.
“Tonight will be the last game where we’re going to evaluate guys,” Roy said. “Tomorrow’s going to be the moment where Lou [Lamoriello] and I will sit down and see where we are.”
That made this 5-1 victory over the Devils, which preceded the team’s first day off after nine straight days on the ice to start camp, a line of demarcation.
Though Roy said he still plans to mix and match lineup combinations, Friday was the last chance for a number of players to prove they still belong in camp.
Unless netminder Ilya Sorokin (back) starts the season on long-term injured reserve, the Islanders only have enough cap space to roster 22 players.
That means Hudson Fasching, Oliver Wahlstrom, Matt Martin and Samuel Bolduc are fighting for two spots between the four of them.
Where Martin — who is in camp on a tryout option — lands after Saturday is likely the biggest question for Lamoriello and Roy to answer. The possibility of Friday being Martin’s last game in an Islanders uniform after 823 regular-season contests with the team appeared to be very much in play.
“Like I said before the camp, I have tons of respect for him and he’s a player that we care a lot about,” Roy said. “I think he understood his role when he came — I think Lou and him had a good talk. I think he was clear what he’s coming here for and it’ll be up to Lou to decide if he’s gonna start the season with us or not.”
Technically, the Islanders can elongate Martin’s PTO until the March 7 trade deadline if they so choose.
Though he would not be on the roster, Martin would be able to practice and be around the team in such a scenario, provided he is not signed elsewhere.
That would not be a surprising outcome if there is no room on the active roster for Martin at the start of the season, and he indicated he would be open to such an option.
“I think all things are worth consideration, for sure,” Martin said. “… For me, just have a pretty open communication line with the staff here over the years. I’m sure we’ll continue to have that. We’ll see what happens here in the next little while.”
Fasching is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Maxim Tsyplakov sat out the last 12:18 of the third period Friday for precautionary reasons, with the team citing a lower-body issue.
