Matias Maccelli, Ryan Pulock give Islanders needed…
LOS ANGELES — For an illustration of how fleeting “when they get healthy” is as a idea in the NHL, look no additional than Thursday right here in Downtown LA.
The Islanders had cause to rejoice, as Matias Maccelli and Ryan Pulock returned to the lineup for a 5-2 win against the Kings.
But the air was let loose of their balloon barely when Jean-Gabriel Pageau left morning skate just a few minutes in and was declared out with a lower-body injury.
“Kind of a depleted lineup,” Bo Horvat told The Post afterward, before discovering the juxtaposition of it all. “We get Pully and ‘Chelly back, both played great.”
Alex Laferriere of the Los Angeles Kings and Ryan Pulock of the New York Islanders battle for the puck on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. NHLI via Getty Images
The ahead strains coach Pete DeBoer had deliberate needed to be tossed out when Pageau left the ice, and the Islanders in the end went with 11 forwards and seven defensemen, with Casey Cizikas centering the third line.
Maccelli and Mitchell Chaffee have been the fourth line, and Matt Kessel was the additional defenseman.
“I think we wanted to give Pulock some protection,” DeBoer said. “He hadn’t played in a while, and really that was probably the main thing.”
All issues thought of, you could possibly call the news a win for the Islanders, at least assuming that Pageau’s injury is certainly short-term.
Pulock’s return gave the protection some much-needed respiration space — it’s little coincidence the Islanders’ construction regarded so a lot worse without him — and Maccelli had six factors in the eight video games he performed before struggling a lower-body injury.
“Obviously it could have been a lot worse,” said Pulock, who confirmed the issue was a reaggravation of a shoulder injury that required surgical procedure during the offseason. “It’s just something to deal with for four games. Originally, when it happened, I thought maybe it’d be worse. Just been trying to rehab, get strong, get myself to the position where I can get back.”
While Pulock said he doesn’t need to assume of the injury as one thing he’ll need to handle for the remaining of his profession, he admitted it’ll require some additional work to keep his shoulder from barking.
Matias MacCelli of the New York Islanders stick handles in entrance of Corey Perry #90 of the Los Angeles Kings in Los Angeles, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. Getty Images
“It’s not just gonna feel good every day,” he said.
As for Maccelli, he was slotted to play on the fourth line in a transfer supposed to ease him back into the lineup before Pageau’s injury jumbled every thing back up again.
“Kinda just keep playing the way I was before I got hurt,” he said of his expectations. “I think I was personally playing well, so I gotta bounce back to the same level. But also, I haven’t played in 3 ½ weeks. Trying to get my legs going early, try to help the team.”
Thursday was Matthew Schaefer’s one hundredth NHL sport and Tony DeAngelo’s five hundredth NHL sport.
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