Practice Time Comes at a Premium for New York Islanders | NYHN+

The New York Islanders spent Saturday and Sunday on the ice preparing to face the Philadelphia Flyers. It is likely the only two days that they’ll get on the ice over the next week.

Monday marks the start of the Second Round of the playoffs for New York and begins a six-day stretch that will see the Islanders and Flyers squaring off four times over that span. Meaning there is little time for practice during the best-of-seven series.

“You can correct a couple of things in practice, which is very helpful,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said on Sunday. “But with our schedule based on being basically four games in six nights, there’s not going to be a lot of practice. Not until probably after Game 5 or Game 6.”

Even if the series went seven games, the whole thing would be over by Thursday, Sept. 3. The condensed schedule is just another symptom of the unique circumstances surrounding the NHL’s postseason this year.

The New York Islanders looked at the lack of practice time as a bit of blessing and a curse. Defenseman Andy Greene told reporters on Sunday that the team honed in during practice on Saturday and Sunday even more so because they knew they wouldn’t get a ton of it after the weekend.

“You really dial in there. We’re not out there long but you really have to be focused and determined,” Greene said. “Making sure you’re getting everything you need out of a practice. After that, it’s more mental. You have to be mentally prepared and mentally ready to play, and focused and go from there.”

The short time between games for the Islanders may also provide the team with a bit of a reprieve from some of the monotony of life in the NHL bubble.

The Islanders won’t be saddled with as much downtime as they have on non-gamedays. That can help keep the team more focused through the series.

“I think everybody wants to play,” Trotz said. “I think the days are long when you’re not playing. I think gamedays guys are competitive. They thrive for it. They love the gameday feel in terms of the importance of the games.

“The competition that your facing and the workload you have to put in. … They want to play. They don’t want to really practice right now.”

The New York Islanders will also get a break from the Toronto traffic with fewer practice days. New York has been caught in traffic coming back from practice twice since moving hotels in the bubble.

The Islanders moved from the Royal York to Hotel X after they eliminated the Capitals. The change of scenery has also helped eliminate the monotony.

“I think, at this point in time, a little change is probably good,” Trotz said. “Getting us out of our comfort zone a little bit, it’s not a bad thing. It gets you out of certain routines, but I think we’re okay.”

The Islanders and Flyers will play in the postseason for the first time since 1987 and both enter the series in a much different position than when they saw each other over the regular season.

Philadelphia has been one of the strongest teams in the NHL since the calendar year turned to 2020. They’ve continued that strong play into the postseason.

The Islanders are well aware of the challenge that the Flyers will pose and how locked in mentally they will have to be, especially with no practice time.

“When don’t practice you get into a different rhythm,” Greene said. “We’re going to have a lot of games here coming up and you just go from there. At that point, it just becomes mentally prepared and making sure you’re recovering properly.”