MONTREAL — Pierre Engvall will be back in the Islanders’ lineup on Thursday for the first time in 10 days and the first time under Patrick Roy.
Roy confirmed that Engvall, a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, would play against the Canadiens in a return from an upper-body injury suffered in Minnesota early last week.
“I think when you’re out — I wasn’t out for that long — but it’s not fun,” Engvall told The Post.
“I think we’re doing some good work, we’re skating a lot. And yeah, feels pretty good to be back.”
Though the Islanders still have a pair of lineup regulars on the shelf in Casey Cizikas and Ryan Pulock, along with Robert Bortuzzo, Thursday represents a big step forward in getting back to full health.
As well as Engvall, Semyon Varlamov also will make his first start since Jan. 2, when he left an eventual loss to the Avalanche in the first period with a lower-body injury.
As a result, Ilya Sorokin has appeared in 15 straight games, testing his endurance to its limit.
“I’m really happy Varly is back,” Sorokin told The Post.
Engvall is expected to skate on the Isles’ usual second line with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, with Roy yet to change up the lines significantly compared to what the team was running under Lane Lambert.
The style of offense, though, has changed, with more emphasis on puck possession and cycling as opposed to the rush-heavy game they were playing previously.
“I think I like to have a lot of possession of the puck and making plays,” Engvall said. “I would say it’s gonna be fun to get out there and play for him.”
Samuel Bolduc is expected to rejoin the lineup on Thursday after sitting in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Golden Knights.
It will be the second time that Bolduc, a native of Laval, Quebec, plays in Montreal.
“It’s always something special playing there in front of family,” Bolduc told The Post. “A little bit more emotion for sure.”
Bo Horvat was a full participant in practice after leaving Tuesday’s game in the final minute when he took a puck to the face.
Though his lip and face were swollen where the puck had caught him, Horvat did not lose any teeth and appeared good to go for Thursday.
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