BOSTON – With the exception of a last-minute setback, Noah Dobson appears ready to enter the islander lineup from a long-term injured reserve to face the Bruins on Thursday night.
Coach Patrick Roy added that if Dobson actually repeats it again following Wednesday's practice in New York, Scott Pernovich will be coming out of the lineup.
Dobson skated in pairs with Adam Perek on Wednesday, and Ryan Prock went with Adam Bokvist. The top pair of Alexander Romanoff and Tony DeAnguero remained the same.
“I'm not nervous because he actually works so hard,” Roy said of Dobson. “What I want to see is controlling the puck, jumping into the rush and defending well. He's here so do what he's doing very well.”
Dobson has not been injured frequently in recent years, except for a minor knock in the tail last season, which recovered in time for the playoffs.
The issue is suspected of being a correct leg injury, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day faced the Blue Jacket.
As the islanders stroll around for their dear life in the playoff race, Dobson's return is just in time for a game that absolutely needs to win to beat Boston, but it would be too late to make a real impact on the club's playoff chances from the Islanders' Seven Points.
Hudson Fassing could re-enter the lineup on Thursday. Because Pierre Engbal looked like a healthy wound in Wednesday's practice after a 5-1 defeat to the Rangers.
If so, it will be Fasching's first game almost two months after being injured in a victory in Boston overtime on January 5th.
“We want energy, and that's what we're looking for,” Roy said. “That line, [with Kyle] McLean and [Marc] Gatcom, he goes outside, finishes his check and shows his physicality. That's what we want. that's it. “
The January 5 victory with the Bruins began an 11-3-0 stretch for the islanders, who existed as the best run of the season.
