There's still a week left to change the equation, and the lineup the Islanders field now in practice could look quite different by the time the season opens against Utah in a week.
However, based on the evidence we have seen in the penultimate week before the opening game, Patrick Roy will have to change his mind in the coming days if Pierre Envall is to feature next Thursday.
Engvall, who is under contract through 2030, was left out of Monday's preseason game against the Flyers, which Roy wanted to use for the first of two rehearsals with his NHL lineup intact. He skated on the fifth line in practice Tuesday and Wednesday. There's still another preseason game, Friday's game against the Rangers, and Opening Day is five days away, so nothing that's happening now should be treated as gospel.
But even if Engvall is in the lineup, a clear message is being sent now: No one, but no one, is guaranteed playing time with Roy behind the bench. That's exactly the kind of message a head coach should send to a veteran-filled team that may have become too accustomed to playing the opposite role in the past.
