Toews pushing for a spot with Islanders
BRIDGEPORT — The uniforms were different, the crowd was bigger, the top- end talent plays at a different top end, but one thing was common between Saturday night’s New York Islanders team and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the past couple of seasons.
The home team went on the power play, and Devon Toews hopped over the boards.
Toews was on a top power- play unit that scored twice in the Islanders’ 5- 2 exhibition win over the Rangers at Webster Bank Arena, the home rink of the Sound Tigers, the Islanders’ AHL affiliate.
“There’s four others out there who can make plays and score goals,” Toews said. “I just want to facilitate that and put them in good situations.”
The other four Saturday were Mathew Barzal, Jordan Eberle, Josh Bailey and Anders Lee, last year’s rookie of the year and three established NHL forwards.
And at the blue line was Toews, the defenseman awaiting his NHL debut, though that had seemed a certainty at midseason last year before shoulder surgery ended his second pro season.
“So far the shoulder has felt really good,” Toews said. “Getting in three games has been nice. I’ve got to make sure I’m doing all the little things to make sure it’s feeling good. I feel like I’ve done that so far.”
The Quinnipiac graduate spent some time at his alma mater this summer, training with the likes of Travis St. Denis, his teammate both with the Bobcats and with the Sound Tigers.
Toews hadn’t missed a pro game for a season and a half to start his career. He had 22 points in 30 games last season and might’ve been the Islanders’ call- up after Christmas.
That was when the team shut him down.
“Probably the first four months or so was just bear down on the shoulder and make sure that’s all fine and good,” Toews said. “After a month and a half, two months, I was able to start working out again on top of the rehab, and that was huge, being able to keep my legs, and getting on the ice at the end of last year was huge, too, to make sure I didn’t lose a step or anything.
“I’m just trying to keep that going and stay healthy.”
Amid that, he’s treating this like every other camp as he pushes for a spot on the Islanders’ 23- man opening- night roster.
“I think this team wants to win a Stanley Cup,” Toews said. “I want to do my best to help that as much as I can.”
Attendance was 7,033 for the seventh Islanders exhibition game at the arena and the fourth in five years. Aside from a 2006 game against New Jersey, all have drawn crowds of over
6,400, with three over 8,000.
Toews was paired at even strength with Scott Mayfield, one of 11 former Sound Tigers in the lineup Saturday, though they never played together here.
Every Islanders goal came from a onetime Sound Tiger: two from Anthony Beauvillier, who played three games for Bridgeport last season; one apiece on the power play for Lee and Bailey; and one beauty of a move from defenseman Ryan Pulock in the third period.
Thomas Greiss made 27 saves, most notably three on a shift early in the third period, gloving down an open Filip Chytil chance for the third of them.
Greenwich native Kevin Shattenkirk made his exhibition season debut for the Rangers. The defenseman missed the last three months of last season, his first in New York, after knee surgery. He had the second assist on both Rangers goals.
The Islanders cut their camp roster to 44 Saturday morning, sending 18 players to Bridgeport with another scheduled to come Sunday if he clears waivers. The only two AHL- contracted players
still with the NHL club are threeyear Bridgeport captain Ben Holmstrom and goalie Jeremy Smith.
The Sound Tigers open their camp for their 18th AHL season on Monday.