Ben Hutton made his Islanders debut Saturday, and Scott Mayfield was the one left out as the team faced the Devils. Hutton skated on the left side of Matt Kessel, a move that had been signaled since he was signed off his PTO on Thursday.
The change mattered because it came with the Islanders already short on bodies and under pressure to sort out a crowded blue line. Ryan Pulock was out with an upper-body injury, and Mayfield had been the ice-time leader at 4-on-5 in the first three games since that injury. He also had been fighting for his spot on the depth chart since training camp, even while the penalty kill had gone 10-for-11 over that stretch.
That is what made the scratch harder to miss. The Islanders used just three defensemen at 4-on-5 in a 5-4 overtime defeat, and Mayfield had still been part of the penalty-kill picture before the game. Pete DeBoer said he was “a part of [the penalty kill]” and added that when teams make those decisions, they have to weigh “some of the strengths of the guys coming out” and “some of the strengths of guys going in.”
The lineup squeeze is not easing any time soon. Mathew Barzal and Matias Maccelli were full participants at Saturday’s optional morning skate, the Islanders were one player short of the roster limit, and the club could soon have to activate Barzal, Maccelli and Calum Ritchie while also deciding whether Pulock goes on injured reserve. Mayfield cannot be traded without his consent, but he could be waived, which makes his status more delicate than a simple night off.
DeBoer did not say whether Barzal or Maccelli would travel with the team to San Jose on Sunday, but he did make the next choice sound practical rather than permanent. If the injured players are cleared, the Islanders will have to make room somewhere, and Hutton’s debut may end up being either the first step in a longer look or the line that forces another defenseman out.
