As recently as Saturday, the Islanders thought Cal Ritchie would be out through the Olympic break.
“I guess that’s why we should say day-to-day [instead of a specific timeline], isn’t it?” coach Patrick Roy joked Thursday morning, acknowledging that Ritchie would be in the Islanders’ lineup later that night against the Devils in the team’s last game before the three-week layoff. “But yeah, he felt great. So when a player feels ready to go, why not?”
Ritchie returned to the lineup to center Jonathan Drouin and Emil Heineman in the 3-1 Islanders win as Anthony Duclair — who played just 3:04 of Tuesday’s win over the Penguins after failing to track Justin Brazeau on Pittsburgh’s opening goal — drew out as a healthy scratch.
“He’s been perfect and he’ll be fine,” Roy said of Duclair, who has been benched midgame twice in the span of a couple weeks. “I have zero worries, concern about him. He’ll be fine.”
The 21-year-old Ritchie did not look at all hindered by the injury, giving a spark throughout 13:54 of ice time in which he looked right at home as a second-line center — a notable development should it hold when the season resumes.
“He was good,” Roy said. “Oh my god he was good. He made some great plays with the puck, defended well. I was very happy with his play.”
Ritchie, who attempted to skate in the morning before the Islanders faced the Flyers on Jan. 26 but “tweaked something,” said he progressed quickly after that.
“Had to take a bit of time off,” Ritchie told The Post. “Each day was, just see how it felt, get on the ice and do a lot of rehab. So I feel good.”
There was no thought of taking the cautious route and giving himself three extra weeks to rehab. Ritchie felt he was ready to play, so he played.
“For me, I just want to help the team,” the 21-year-old said. “Every game is so big right now coming down the stretch. I just want to play and try to help the team.”
Ondrej Palat appeared emotional following a tribute video from the Devils in his first game back at Prudential Center.
Palat was in his fourth season with New Jersey when the Devils traded him to the Islanders just over a week ago.
“It’s been a good four years here,” Palat said. “Have good memories of this rink for sure.”“Have good memories of this rink for sure.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
