Cizikas shows promise after call-up by Isles

BOSTON -- Casey Cizikas has had a whirlwind first week in the NHL. It began with a call-up and his debut against the Rangers, got to the midpoint just in time for his 21st birthday and finished with his first points, a pair of assists on Thursday in Philadelphia.

"It's just kind of a dream come true," Cizikas said in the postgame locker room at the Wachovia Center on Thursday night. There was excitement but little exuberance in his voice. "Maybe if they came with a win, it'd be a better feeling."

With the Islanders' playoff hopes dwindling, the time is rapidly coming to see what some of the team's prospects are made of. Cizikas, the Isles' fourth-round pick in 2009, already has shown quite a bit in his first pro season, leading Bridgeport in points (44) and plus/minus (plus-25) when he was recalled last week.

He may never be a leading-man sort of talent, but in four NHL games, he already has shown some of the attributes that could keep him in the league for a decent amount of time. Despite his 5-10, 192-pound build, Cizikas hasn't been afraid to mix it up with bigger opponents, and his primary assists on Josh Bailey's first goal and Kyle Okposo's third-period score in the Islanders' 6-3 loss Thursday demonstrate that Cizikas, never a prolific junior hockey scorer, has some vision.

"What's really impressed me is, he's playing against men now and he's playing the way he played in Bridgeport," Jack Capuano said. "He's in good position on the D-side of the puck, he's got a good, active stick. It's really good to see that from a young player."

Cizikas also isn't afraid to speak honestly about his new team's game. "We had chances to get pucks out of our zone, get pucks deep, and we didn't do that," he said after the loss to the Flyers. "They're a big, skillful team, and they kept on coming."

Notes & quotes: G Evgeni Nabokov was the only Islander to take off from Friday's practice in Boston. Anders Nilsson, who hasn't lost a regulation game since December for Bridgeport, seems likely to start either Saturday against the Bruins or Sunday against the Devils at Nassau Coliseum . . . Very recent former Islander Brian Rolston has no points, four penalty minutes and one shot on goal in two games with the Bruins. Mike Mottau was a healthy scratch in Boston's most recent game.