PITTSBURGH — Adam Perek has returned to the islander lineup, but Tuesday wasn't the long-awaited day when he could play six opening night defensemen for the first time since October 25th.
The sick revolving carousel has now landed at Alexander Romanov. He missed out on a 4-2 comeback victory over the Penguins due to illness.
Adam Bokvist was also ill, but it is unclear whether the Swedes were ready to play either way after missing the last two games due to an upper body injury.
“It's a strange season, I won't lie,” coach Patrick Roy said before the game. “The number of injuries, the people who are sick, etc., it seems like it's never going to end. That's the last thing and you can play with a healthy lineup.”
Perek's foot issues after blocking a shot late Friday night to Edmonton have proved to be at least short-term.
“It feels good,” Perek said. “Unfortunately, I wasn't prepared to oppose Florida. [on Sunday]. I wanted to be there, I was just not ready, but now I feel good. Nearly 100% ready. ”
Perek skated a season-high 26:00 with Deangelo's first top pair of the season, in which Deangelo has partnered with Romanov in every match since Deangelo was signed in late January.
The other two pairs – Ryan Prock with Mike Riley against Noah Dobson and Scott Mayfield – was the same Sunday night victory over Florida.
His 12-shot attempts were also the best in the season. This included five on the net, and the defensive man shot a puck that was significantly more offensive than usual.
“I think most of the comebacks for the last two games are just sticking to the process,” Perek posted after the match. “You can't force it and start making individual plays. You need to be disciplined, trust your system and know that we get the bounce and the pack goes online.”
Roy said he thought Rickard Raquel's stick hit Ilya Sorokin's stick in Sydney Crosby's first goal, leading him to challenge the play due to goaltender interference.
The islanders lost their challenge, but they killed the subsequent penalty.
Roy is 6-4 in the challenge this season.
“They thought it was an accidental contact with Beauvat. I had a hard time understanding,” Roy said. “It's behind us. Let's focus on victory and the next game.”
