EDMONTON, Alberta — The good news for the Islanders is that Alexander Romanov returned to practice Monday, a positive sign that the defenseman will be back from an upper-body injury sooner rather than later.
The bad news is that his return will not come in time for Tuesday night’s match against the Oilers, when the Islanders will need to find a way to slow down the combination of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl with a defensive corps that is still down half its opening night lineup.
“100 percent not tomorrow,” Romanov told The Post after the Islanders practiced in Edmonton on Monday. “I can’t really predict [a timeline] because if I would say, I don’t want to be wrong.”
It is good news Romanov, who donned an orange non-contact sweater in practice, traveled with the team to Alberta, which could mean a return is in the cards at some point over a five-game trip that will see the Islanders cross the U.S.-Canada border four times before they return home a week from Friday.
“It depends on my feelings [pain tolerance] and if the doctors will allow me to play or not,” Romanov said. “It takes time. This injury takes time.”
The concern for Tuesday is how the Islanders will handle the matchups with McDavid and Draisaitl and whether the 20-year-old Isaiah George — who has been nothing short of spectacular through his first three NHL games — can handle what will be the toughest test thrown at him yet.
“You don’t want them to skate with the puck,” coach Patrick Roy said. “It’s like [Nathan] MacKinnon, the top players, like [Jack] Hughes. More they gonna have room, the more dangerous they become, and we’re gonna have to be very good in the neutral zone, and we’re gonna have to be good in our D-zone. They love to possess the puck, and we’re gonna have to do a good job.”
Since returning from his stint in AHL Bridgeport, Pierre Engvall has continued to don a neck guard — which is mandatory for all AHLers — making him the first Islander to do so in games.
“I don’t mind it,” Engvall told The Post. “I feel like if you got a little extra protection, I think that’s better than to not have it. I don’t get disturbed by it. Feels pretty good to have it.”
Ilya Sorokin was the first goalie off the ice at Monday’s practice, indicating a likely start Tuesday night.
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