Boychuk makes presence known on ice,

The difference for the Islanders with and without Johnny Boychuk in the lineup is drastic.

The veteran defenseman played his second game back from injury in the 81 rout of the Oilers on Sunday afternoon at Barclays Center, and his presence was made known when he scored 2:57 into the first to give his team a 10 lead.

“You have to come back quick,” Boychuk said. “You can’t be left behind because this is the time when teams ether fight for position, or lose playoff position. You have to take every win as just a win and build off each one.”

Boychuk suffered an upperbody injury on Dec. 31 and didn’t return until Saturday afternoon’s 51 loss to the Red Wings in Detroit. The goal was his fourth of the season, his first since he scored from close to center ice in San Jose on Nov. 10.

But in the view of coach Jack Capuano, the value of Boychuk is more than just his offense.

“For me, it’s more of his leadership and what he can bring to the room,” Capuano said. “He’s been there before, started in the minors, worked his way up, he’s won a Stanley Cup, he knows the grind that it takes. And he knows the accountability factor. Hey, it doesn’t matter if you hurt somebody’s feelings. And you need a guy like that.”

After a tough game from starting goalie Jaroslav Halak in Detroit on Saturday, Capuano went to regular backup Thomas Greiss, who hadn’t started since Jan. 12.

Greiss was solid in stopping 30of31 shots, posting his 14th win of the season.

“Just look at his save percentage, one of the top goalies in the league,” Capuano said of Greiss’ gaudy .927 percentage coming into the game. “So for me, going down the stretch here, the guys that play well are going to get the opportunity to play.”

The possible goalie controversy between Halak and Greiss is something both have played down, with Capuano stating Halak is the starter when healthy. But it’s getting harder and harder to justify.

“I’ve been down this path before,” Greiss said of the long layoff. “It was a nice little break for me,

but to get back into it and the team played real well.”

Captain John Tavares struggled for over a month starting in early December, scoring three goals in 19 games from Dec. 4 through Jan. 17. Yet after a game with a goal and two assists, Tavares now has four goals and five assists in the past six games.

“Johnny is a guy, he makes some turnovers every now and again, [the media] talks to me about that, but you have to let him play his game,” Capuano said. “He tries to carry the team on his back. He’s the guy that goes for us. When he’s going, we’re going.”

Brian Strait replaced Marek Zidlicky on the Isles back end. Zidlicky, 39, rarely plays both games of a backtoback. Strait got into his first NHL fight in the second period with the Oilers’ Zack Kassian.