Islanders nearing full strength as stars inch towards return

CHICAGO — The Islanders’ lineup is going to look different Sunday. 

It might just look a little bit more like what they envisioned in training camp. 

Adam Pelech, who has missed the last six weeks with a jaw injury, will return against the Blackhawks, coach Patrick Roy confirmed after Saturday’s practice.

Mat Barzal, who has missed the same duration with an upper-body injury, is likely to play in Chicago as well, but is being officially called a game-time decision. 

And while Anthony Duclair (suspected groin) won’t return Sunday, he is making the trip — which indicates there is at least a chance he will come back in Carolina on Tuesday night. 

“All those guys, you think about those guys and what they mean — I think they make us a better team,” Brock Nelson said. “To see them all back skating, traveling with us now, it’s encouraging, for sure. It makes everyone in here better as a team. It’s huge to get those players back.” 

The decks were cleared for Barzal to come off LTIR on Saturday as well after Pierre Engvall and Oliver Wahlstrom passed through waivers, with the Bruins claiming Wahlstrom.

More maneuvering will be necessary, however, to activate Duclair when the time comes. 

Good as that news was, Saturday was not all roses for the Isles. 

Bo Horvat, who did not play the last 9:49 in Thursday’s win over the Blackhawks, did not practice Saturday and was called day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He will make the trip — a good sign that this is only a short-term issue — but Roy did not commit to his playing in the return match against Chicago. 

So it is possible that after going six weeks with just one-third of their opening night top line, the Islanders will play Sunday with a different ⅓ percentage of it. 

And Semyon Varlamov, who has a lower-body injury, will not make the trip — which means Marcus Hogberg will continue to back up Ilya Sorokin. 

It’s not quite a return to full health. But things are trending in the right direction for a club that has been down numerous players for most of the season. 

“The guys have been doing a super nice job while these guys were gone,” Roy said. “.500 hockey, would I sign up for this when the injuries happened? Not necessarily, but at the same time, I respect that. 

“And having them come back slowly — Pelly back, Barzy could be back and Anthony could be back in a game or so. I think it’s nice for our guys. They played so hard. Having the opportunity to have these guys coming back will give a little of that swing that we need to get to the next level.” 

In Saturday’s practice, Barzal centered a top line between Duclair and Anders Lee, with Brock Nelson going between Max Tsyplakov and Kyle Palmieri. Jean-Gabriel Pageau was between Kyle MacLean and Simon Holmstrom, while Casey Cizikas went to the fourth line with Matt Martin and Hudson Fasching. 

On defense, Pelech skated on a pair with Ryan Pulock, Alexander Romanov with Noah Dobson and Dennis Cholowski with Scott Mayfield. Isaiah George and Grant Hutton made up the fourth pair. 

With Horvat’s status up in the air, it’s not clear how much of that will carry over into Sunday.

It’s also unclear whether Cholowski or Isaiah George will ultimately play next to Mayfield, with Roy saying the plan — for now — is for the two to rotate, instead of the team sending George back to the AHL. 

“Obviously, if he’s not playing for a while, I’m pretty sure Lou [Lamoriello’s] gonna want to do something about it,” Roy said. “We’ll see how it goes. Every time you’re winning a game, it’s hard to make changes, so we’ll go from there before making final decisions.”