Islanders' Casey Cizikas fulfilling expectations playing on the top line
Islanders center Casey Cizikas (53) and Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel (38) battle for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. Credit: AP/Chris O'Meara
Patrick Roy had some good comparables for Casey Cizikas, the longtime Islanders’ fourth-line center currently bringing his tireless energy to the top trio with Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal.
“Casey does what Bob Errey did for Mario Lemieux and Kevin Stevens,” the coach told the media in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday morning. “He does what Esa Tikkanen would do for [Wayne] Gretzky and [Jari] Kurri. You need a guy that has a lot of speed. A guy that will go in the corner and dig for the puck. A guy that will come back and help out in the defensive zone coverage. I feel like it’s been a pleasant fit for us.”
Thursday night’s match against the Eastern Conference-trailing Blue Jackets marked the second straight Cizikas started with Horvat and Barzal after Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Chicago at UBS Arena. It was also Cizikas’ second game on a power-play unit with Horvat, Barzal, defenseman Noah Dobson and Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
Cizikas, known more for his forechecking and penalty killing, combined with Barzal to set up Horvat’s power-play goal against Chicago, the Islanders’ first man-advantage score in six games.
Cizikas’ line elevation comes with the season essentially on the brink every game the Islanders play.
They entered Thursday’s match on a two-game winning streak, including Monday night’s 4-3 overtime victory in Philadelphia, two points behind the Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division and one point behind the Capitals for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. Also Thursday, the Capitals hosted the Penguins, who started the night two points behind the Islanders.
“If he’s not there creating havoc and winning that battle, we probably don’t score,” Barzal told the media of Cizikas’ secondary assist on Horvat’s power-play goal. “I’m happy for him to get an opportunity. He’s been playing good hockey as of late and he deserves it. He’s going to be great at the net front. He battles hard. He’s strong and he hounds pucks. When you put it all together, I think it could work really well.”
While this marked Cizikas’ second game to start with Horvat and Barzal, rookie Kyle MacLean’s continued steady job centering (usually) Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck on the fourth line has allowed Roy to push Cizikas into a top-nine role over the last 19 games. He was centering the third line before Roy tried him on wing on lines centered by Horvat, Barzal, Brock Nelson and Pageau.
Cizikas entered Thursday with two goals and seven assists in that span and eight goals and 13 assists in 63 games overall.
So he’s not playing differently. He’s still going hard into the corners and pressuring behind the crease, trying to create loose pucks to distribute.
Exactly what Errey did for Lemieux and Stevens with the Stanley Cup-winning Penguins in the 1990s or the agitating Tikkanen did for Gretzky and Kurri for some of the Oilers’ Cup titles in the 1980s.
“I try to be quick out there,” Cizikas said on March 30 when Newsday asked him to define his role. “I’m going to try to be in on the forecheck and get those guys the puck and get to the front of the net. I’ve just got to work hard, get them the puck and go to the net.”
It’s what the Islanders need across all four lines.
“I’m very happy the way we played our last two games,” Roy said. “Chicago was not an easy game. Chicago played really well and we’re going to have to do the exact same thing.”
Notes & quotes: Goalie Ilya Sorokin started his second straight game after making 28 saves against Chicago to snap a personal six-game losing streak dating to March 7. But Roy said Semyon Varlamov, 4-1-1 in his last six starts, is likely to face the playoff-bound Predators on Saturday night at UBS Arena. “We know we’re going to need both goalies,” Roy said . . . Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo drew back into the lineup for Sebastian Aho after being rested against Chicago as a healthy scratch . . . The Islanders announced The Park at UBS Arena will be offering free skating and skate rentals on all game and event days starting on Saturday . . . Forwards Hudson Fasching and Oliver Wahlstrom and defenseman Samuel Bolduc remained healthy scratches.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
