Islanders' Leo Komarov clears waivers, then chips in with two assists in win
Jean-Gabriel Pageau of the Islanders celebrates his first period goal against the Bruins with teammates Leo Komarov, Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Leo Komarov is making a strong case to remain in the Islanders’ lineup once Anthony Beauvillier is activated off injured reserve.
Komarov, who cleared waivers earlier in the day, had two assists in Saturday’s 4-2 win over the Bruins at Nassau Coliseum. He played on Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s left wing along with Oliver Wahlstrom for the fourth straight game.
"Playing with J-G is unbelievable," said Komarov, who logged 14:39, including 53 seconds on the 2-for-2 penalty kill. "He’s a smart player. He’s my neighbor. I’m having fun with him. We had a solid game today and we just keep building on it."
"Leo was good," coach Barry Trotz said. "Leo brings a lot of intangibles that media or analytics people or even fans sometimes don’t see. He usually brings people into the fight. If not, he usually gets someone off their game from the opposition."
Beauvillier missed his eighth game but did rejoin the team for practice on Friday. Trotz said Beauvillier’s imminent return means he is evaluating some of his forwards more intently.
"I would think it’s really important to understand the roles of each player and what we’re looking for," he said. "You sort of plan for, if everything goes right, what would be our next lineup when that player returns."
Ready to go
The Islanders are scheduled to play in Buffalo on Monday and Tuesday nights, and Trotz said all indications are the games will go on. The Sabres are practicing but have not played since Jan. 31. They still have eight players on the NHL’s COVID-protocol list.
"I’m packed," Trotz said. "I would say that would be a yes. I’m anticipating that we are playing them. I haven’t heard anything otherwise."
Isles files
The Isles marked Hockey Fights Cancer on Saturday with Siobhan O’Sullivan, an 11-year-old Queens resident who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019 and has since undergone 40 rounds of chemotherapy, dropping the puck virtually. "It’s been a great initiative for as long as I’ve been involved in the league," Trotz said . . . Lou Lamoriello earned his 1,300th win as an NHL general manager, becoming the third to reach that milestone behind the Predators’ David Poile (1,420) and Glen Sather (1,319) . . . Goalie Cory Schneider, defenseman Sebastian Aho and Ross Johnston remained the 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.
