The Islanders made the long-awaited move to call up Isaiah George before Saturday’s game, but did so in the sort of context they would have preferred to avoid.
Ryan Pulock was out with an upper-body injury and called day to day by coach Patrick Roy.
That meant instead of replacing Adam Boqvist in the lineup — which would have been the likely move had the Islanders brought home a fully healthy defensive corps from Wednesday’s 4-1 loss in Seattle — George was on a pair opposite the Swede.
Scott Mayfield moved up to the top pair in Pulock’s usual spot, reprising the role he played at the start of the season on the right side of Matthew Schaefer.
“I thought it was good,” George said of his performance across 13:56 of ice as the Islanders lost 5-0 to the Sabres. “Thought I had some moments, obviously, wish you had better shifts, but I felt comfortable out there. Getting back to the groove of things but I felt like I was handling the puck pretty well. Felt like I was seeing the ice.”
Before the game, Roy went through the list of players from Bridgeport the Islanders have given a chance this year: Travis Mitchell, Marshall Warren, Cole McWard and now George. Left unsaid was that part of the reason four defensemen have been called up is not one of them has seized a job for good.
George, who played 33 games with the Islanders last season, may have the best chance of doing so. Word is that the 21-year-old put on serious muscle mass since his stint with the Isles a year ago, addressing one of the issues that prevented him from finishing the season on Long Island.
The Oakville, Ontario native impressed last season with his poise and skating, but the NHL seemed to wear on him over time, in particular the physicality of the league. Roy also said that a concussion, sustained in Toronto that caused George to miss a few games, had to do with some of his struggles.
This season, George has missed time with a pair of injuries, but has impressed since returning from the latest one a couple of weeks ago in particular. In his last game before getting called up last Monday, George had two assists.
“Obviously, you’d rather not be hurt,” George said. “You want to be playing, playing good, so that was obviously a tough situation. But I’m just happy with the way I stuck with it, kept working. I feel like the last couple weeks it’s kind of gone my way.”
Bo Horvat played 19:20 and recorded four shots on net in his return from a lower-body injury.
“I felt pretty good,” Horvat said. “I think, obviously, can be better in certain areas and timing-wise and legs, but overall felt pretty good. Felt confident.”
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