Islanders’ Kyle Palmieri looks to live up to expectations — and stay healthy
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As Kyle Palmieri enters his third full season with the Islanders, he has yet to match expectations since he signed for four years in the summer of 2021.
Some of that for example, the 27 games he missed to injury last season, is not directly his fault.
Other elements — especially the long cold spell of five goals he scored in 35 games to start the 2021-22 season — have been somewhat corrected.
The fact remains, however, Palmieri had scored 24 or more goals in every season from 2015 through 2020, but on the Island, he has not yet broken 16.
“Obviously you want to stay healthy all year,” Palmieri told The Post following practice Tuesday. “It’s been a tough last nine or 10 months for me, staying healthy. Right now, the best way to help your team is being ready to go and being able to play in games. Right now, that’s a focus.”
Palmieri missed the start of training camp with an undisclosed issue, but returned in time to participate in the last preseason game on Friday.
The second line, made up of Palmieri, Brock Nelson and Pierre Engvall, has only started to skate together recently as a result.
“It’s definitely not relearning,” Palmieri said. “We knew what made us successful as a line. You can go back and watch clips, we’ve had the opportunity to do that. Sometimes it’s not as easy as watching, saying oh let’s go out and do that again, [but] we know where we’ve had success as a line. We just want to pick up where we left off.”
It was towards the end of the season, when he was helping turn the second line into a weapon and putting up more than a point per game in March, that Palmieri’s value was most evident to the Islanders.
He has yet to do it for a full season, though.
“I’m optimistic for everyone, not just him, that they can put together an 82-game season,” coach Lane Lambert said. “Stranger things have happened. We’ll see what happens. But certainly there’s no question you can notice a difference when he’s playing and when he’s on it and when he’s in practice. He’s a big part of our team.”
Ross Johnston was claimed on waivers by the Ducks, who will assume the remaining three years of his contract, totaling $3.3 million.
Cal Clutterbuck was back at practice on Tuesday after he missed Monday while sick.
Ryan Pulock skated on the second power-play unit in place of Oliver Wahlstrom, who stayed out late for extra work for a second straight day.
With Simon Holmstrom assigned to AHL Bridgeport so the Islanders could stay cap compliant, Julien Gauthier skated Tuesday on the first line with Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat.
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