Islanders get Mattias Maccelli, Ryan Pulock back tonight against Kings

LOS ANGELES – Now, or at least soon, we’ll find out.

As the Islanders get healthier, it will show whether their recent struggles are injury-related or there is a larger cause for concern for the rest of the season.

Matias Maccelli and defenseman Ryan Pulock were scheduled to return for Thursday’s match against the Kings at Crypto.com Arena. Mathew Barzal’s return seems imminent, perhaps for the conclusion of this three-game California swing on Saturday night in Anaheim. Of course, third-line center Jean-Gabriel Pageau did not play after exiting Thursday’s morning skate with a lower-body issue that also kept him out of Tuesday’s practice in San Jose.

But if the wins are still hard to come by, how does general manager Mathieu Darche react? How soon could he declare the team a seller with an eye toward having money for free agency and roster spots available for prospects?

“I don’t think we’re looking at it as a bump in the road,” Brayden Schenn told Newsday of the 0-2-2 slide the Islanders brought into Thursday’s game. “I think we’re looking at [it like] we have some things that we can focus on and clean up.”

The Islanders’ defensive structure has certainly frayed of late. The power play struggles are starting to feel like the past few seasons, even with rookie Victor Eklund scoring on the man advantage in Monday’s 3-2 eight-round shootout loss to the Sharks after a 1-for-18 stretch over the previous six games.

Maccelli can help the first power-play unit, just as he can help boost the team’s speed and ability to finish scoring chances. He had two goals and four assists in his first eight games with the Islanders when he was hurt in Toronto on Oct. 17, though he had two goals and three assists in the five games prior to his injury.

The Islanders went 3-3-3 without him.

“I feel good now and I’m ready to go,” Maccelli said. “Just keep playing the way I was before I got hurt. I was personally playing well. So I’ve got to bounce back to the same level. But, also, I haven’t played in three-and-a-half weeks so I’m just trying to get my legs going and try to help the team.”

If Maccelli is able to bounce back to the same level, it would to reason that the Islanders’ play would improve. Again, if that’s not the case, there are bigger problems here.

“It’s a boost to get good players back,” Schenn said. “Guys like Maccelli and hopefully, eventually, Barzy. Highly-skilled players that can make plays, that can drive offense. With that, too, those guys just don’t come back and you change your mindset that you want to win games with higher scoring.

“If you stick to your defensive structure, play the right way and play hard for one another and then you add skill and offensive firepower into the lineup, it will help you on that side of things. But you’ve got to make sure you take care of your own end and be more defensive than we’ve been as of late.”

The Islanders allowed too much time and space on the ice for the Sharks to skate and helped feed their transition game by struggling to break out of the defensive zone.

And they allowed the Devils 50 shots on net as the Islanders were outchanced 81-44 in a 5-4 overtime loss on Saturday at UBS Arena.

The Islanders went 0-2-2 after Pulock reaggravated a shoulder injury that required offseason surgery and hindered him late last season.

His return should help the Islanders shore up their own end. If not, see above (the Islanders have bigger problems).

“You don’t want to be sitting,” Pulock said. “You want to be playing. To have an opportunity to get back in the lineup, it’s exciting for me. I’ll just play my game. Physical, hard, good defensively. Help on the penalty kill. Play fast, move the puck, defend hard.”

His shoulder will require management, at least for the rest of this season.

And Pulock acknowledged when he hurt it again, he was concerned it would be longer than a four-game absence.

Pulock said his biggest takeaway after being forced to watch the past four games was the inconsistency in the Islanders’ game.

“That’s the biggest thing, trying to play a full 60 [minutes] and not have any lapses or down shifts,” Pulock said. “This group is going to be fine. It’s a little bump right now.”

Soon enough we’ll find out whether it’s a bump or a mountain of problems that can’t be fixed just by having healthy players return.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.