Islanders defenseman Tony DeAngelo was back at practice Wednesday and his new head coach is “positively optimistic” he’ll be active Thursday for a virtual must-win matchup against the Maple Leafs.
DeAngelo has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, but was able to skate Tuesday.
After DeAngelo got in a full practice Wednesday and slid back into the second defensive pairing, Pete DeBoer is putting him on the positive side of a game-time decision for Thursday.
“Tony looked good. … I would say I’m optimistic, positively optimistic, that he would be an option for us [Thursday],” DeBoer said.
Without DeAngelo, the Islanders have gone just 2-4 with a goal differential of minus-6.
They also lost to the Blackhawks 4-3 on March 24 — a game DeAngelo left early because of injury.
“It was a good practice, good pace,” DeAngelo said, echoing his coach’s sentiment. “It felt good to get back on the ice with those guys.”
DeAngelo’s return seemingly bumped rookie Isaiah George into an extra spot.
Also back on the ice for the Islanders was Casey Cizikas, who had been given “maintenance” days the previous two practices by DeBoer.
“He’s ready to go,” the coach said. “He’s a warrior. He’s an old veteran that he could have practiced probably yesterday.”
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Ilya Sorokin made some eye-catching saves at Wednesday’s practice, and his new coach gushed about the 6-foot-3 goaltender afterward.
“I didn’t realize how big a man he is. He’s a big guy, like you see him from the other bench or on TV, and you don’t realize how big a goaltender is,” DeBoer said.
“He’s so athletic that you almost assume he’s not as big as he is, but he’s the whole package.”
The 2023 All-Star has a save percentage of 90.9 percent this year — tied for 10th in the league.
DeBoer was also plenty positive when it came to his first impressions of captain Anders Lee, calling him “exactly as advertised.”
“I watched him from the other bench for a decade. He’s honest, he plays the right way. He’s always one of those guys from the other bench you say, ‘Boy, I wish I had that guy on my team.’ ”
