CHICAGO — While the Islanders have played just three games this season, they haven’t flown by for the team or for Cal Clutterbuck.
But here on Friday night against the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, Clutterbuck is all but assured of making his Isles debut — and it couldn’t come any sooner.
“He’s a gritty kid, he’s eager to get in there,” coach Jack Capuano said on Thursday morning after practice at the Coliseum. “It’s been a tough training camp for him, but I think he’s where he needs to be right now.”
Clutterbuck, 25, signed a four-year, $11 million deal this offseason after coming over from the Wild in a trade for disgruntled prospect Nino Niederreiter. He then suffered a deep leg laceration from a skate cut in the first preseason game, on Sept. 17, and just returned to practice this week.
“He hasn’t played in a while, so the conditioning is always a bit of a concern,” Capuano said. “There’s nothing like getting in a game and battling. You can skate and bike and do all the conditioning you want, but it’s getting in and having that physicality and trying to win those 50-50 pucks.”
Since being cleared for contact, Clutterbuck has practiced as an extra on the third line with Peter Regin, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and rookie Brock Nelson. Capuano said one of those guys is most likely to come out, and when Clutterbuck gets in, he knows his role will be to bring the physical game that made the Islanders want him in the first place.
“You can probably never have enough of that,” said Clutterbuck, who led the league in hits for three consecutive years starting in 2008-09. “It makes the rink feel a little bit smaller for teams you’re playing against. Whether you’re out there or not, I think they probably feel like they have less time to play with the puck.”
Capuano called the Blackhawks, “the best team in the league, for me, skill-wise,” and said after his team has taken five of the first six possible points Friday night’s game will be “a huge test.”
“The more time and space you give these guys in this league, then the better plays they’re going to make,” Clutterbuck said. “The key is to make sure you’re keeping them honest and keeping them on their toes.”