NHL

Islanders reactivate Hamonic, expect him in lineup Saturday

Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic was activated off injured reserve on Friday and likely will be in the lineup for the first time since Jan. 12 when his team faces the Avalanche on Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders’ last game before the two-week Olympic break.

Hamonic has missed 12 straight games after suffering a concussion, but has practiced for two consecutive days with contact and was cleared by all the doctors.

“It’s going to take him some time,” coach Jack Capuano said after Friday’s practice. “But you have a big, strong defenseman back there that’s physical that every team needs. You can see what happens when he’s out of our lineup.”

In the 12 games Hamonic has missed, the Islanders have gone 4-7-1, a slump of 1-5-1 in their past seven, keeping them in the basement of the Metropolitan Division.

If practice serves as a predictor, it’s likely Hamonic will be paired with rookie Calvin de Haan, and another rookie, Matt Donovan, will likely find a seat in the press box. Donovan will almost assuredly be sent down to AHL Bridgeport soon so he can play there for the duration of the break.

Despite the fact the Islanders are going to enter the hiatus well out of a playoff spot with many teams to leapfrog, they still didn’t make any trades before Friday’s 3 p.m. roster freeze, keeping both Thomas Vanek and Andrew MacDonald on the roster at least until the break is over. A team source said many calls were fielded throughout the day, but none of them were found attractive enough to pull the trigger on a deal.

The next time to make a deal will be at midnight on Feb. 24, leaving teams just nine days to execute a trade before the March 5 deadline at 3 p.m.