Matt Martin still still not ready to return to Islanders from injury

RALEIGH, N.C. — Matt Martin says he feels good enough to play, but that was not enough for him to be inserted back into the lineup on Saturday in the Islanders’ last game before the holiday break. 

It is going on five weeks since Martin, an Islander for 13 of his 15 NHL seasons, has played a game.

He has been on injured reserve for most of that span with an upper-body injury of which he suffered a setback earlier this month.

But Hudson Fasching’s play in his absence created a situation in which Martin’s activation ahead of Wednesday night’s game in Washington did not lead to him returning to the lineup. 

“I’ve been through a lot of these things,” Martin said Friday. “Whether it be injuries or [coach Mike] Babcock in Toronto, being a healthy scratch for essentially half the year. I’ve overcome those in the past and have confidence in myself and the way I’ve handled those things before. 

“In terms of injury, I think you just try to come to work each day, get better. With upper-body injuries, you can continue to skate, which is positive. … Some days are good, some days are bad with injuries. And if you’re out of the lineup as a scratch, you can have days where it’s tough to be positive. But you use your family and your teammates, past experiences to help you through that.” 

Prior to going out of the lineup, Martin’s ice time was at just 8:27 per game, his lowest since the final season he played under Babcock in Toronto, when he skated just 7:59 per over 50 games. 

After playing just 14 of the first 33 games this season for the Islanders and finding himself a healthy scratch upon return from injury, it appears to be a question whether he will play that many games this season. 

“Fasch has played great. He played great for us last year as well,” Martin said. “Those are things that I don’t really have control over or think about. At the end of the day, I know who I am and the type of game I play and what I bring. All those other decisions are not in my control. 

“In my younger days, I’d probably be a little more frustrated by that or whatever. But I think the longer you play, the more you go through those things, lineup decisions aren’t my job.

“All I can do is prepare my best to play. When I do play, bring my best game and that’s it.” 

If Martin is no longer an everyday part of the lineup, it wouldn’t just mean the Islanders are taking a step back from the Identity Line but also from the core that underpinned much of the franchise’s success under Barry Trotz.

Martin, whose contract expires this year, could find himself in a similar situation that Josh Bailey was last season — with healthy scratches preceding an eventual exit from the Islanders. 

Both Lou Lamoriello and Lane Lambert have refused to entertain questions about what it would mean for Martin to be a healthy scratch, pointing out that he has been on injured reserve for much of the time he’s sat.

Lambert, the last time he was asked, made a point of saying that Martin is and will always be a big part of the group. 

“I didn’t see that or hear that,” Martin said. “We’ve talked a couple times throughout the course of the time, the injury. Haven’t talked to him much over the past week or so. I think at the end of the day, we’ll talk. He’ll talk to me. Obviously the team is playing well right now. We’ll take it day by day and go from there.”