New York Post

Bailey may get back from injury this week

- By GREG JOYCE

There was a glimmer of good news on the Islanders’ injury front Tuesday for the first time in a while. Josh Bailey will skate Wednesday at practice and could make his return from a lowerbody injury as soon as Thursday against the Bruins.

“Bails is feeling pretty good,” coach Doug Weight said before his team’s 4-1 loss to the Devils at Barclays Center. “We’ll get him on the ice [Wednesday] and see how he feels.”

A first-time All-Star, Bailey missed a fourth straight game, but still entered action 11th in the league with 50 points.

Weight said Bailey is the only injured player who has a shot at returning this week, but others have made improvemen­t.

“Johnny [Boychuk, out since Dec. 27] is feeling pretty good, but he hasn’t skated yet so he’s going to have to get some grease on his bones and [Andrew Ladd, out since Jan. 5] the same,” Weight said. “But I think all of them are starting to turn a corner feeling a little better.”

With an apparent hand injury, center Casey Cizikas “is going to be a little bit,” Weight said.

The new second line of Anthony Beauvillie­r, Mathew Barzal and Jordan Eberle was held scoreless, cooling off a unit that had been on fire since Beauvillie­r was recalled from AHL Bridgeport to fill in for Ladd.

In the Islanders’ previous three games, Barzal had three goals and seven assists, Beauvillie­r had four goals and one assist, and Eberle had seven assists.

“The look in [Beauvillie­r’s] eye coming back has just been different and obviously the performanc­e on the ice has been different,” Weight said. “He’s had as much of a hand in that line being successful as Mat or Jordan.”

The confidence Beauvillie­r found in the AHL has stuck in his return to the NHL, and his play likely has warranted a longer stay, even when the Islanders get their injured players back.

Defenseman Scott Mayfield remained in the lineup after leaving Monday’s game early when he took a puck to his neck area.

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