The man brought in this offseason to boost the Islanders’ power play already was up and gone by the time most of his team took the fresh ice in Syosset yesterday.
The good news is that it was the second day in a row that Brian Rolston skated by himself, getting closer to fully recovering from a groin strain and closer to joining the lineup, which will probably happen this weekend.
Rolston was part of the majority of the team that didn’t travel to Calgary last night, where a group filled with mostly young guys and veteran tryouts lost to the Flames, 2-0.
“I feel good,” Rolston told The Post after his workout. “Hopefully I’ll get into a game soon. It’s important because you need to get your hands and timing. The speed of the game gets faster and faster every year, and there’s nothing like being in game shape.”
Rolston said that when the injury occurred two weeks ago, he had an MRI exam, and it came back negative. It’s now up to his body to tell him and the medical staff when he’s ready to get back to full-on practice.
“It’s one day at a time, and it’s just on me and how I feel,” Rolston said.
Islanders general manager Garth Snow obtained Rolston, 38, from the Devils this summer in a trade for Trent Hunter, whom the Devils then immediately cut. Rolston, making just over $5 million this season, won one Stanley Cup in New Jersey (1995) and was an integral part of many successful power-play units over the years.
“I watched him skate and he looked pretty good,” coach Jack Capuano said. “If he was 21, it would throw me off [that he’s missed this much time]. But at 38 years old, with the amount of power plays that he’s played on with a lot of different teams, there’s no surprise at what he does and what he does best. So I’m not overly concerned right now.”
Capuano doesn’t have much reason to be stressed about the way his power play looked during Saturday night’s 6-2 win over the Devils, when it went 3-for-6 against New Jersey. It was clear then that the return of defenseman Mark Streit, who missed all of last season after shoulder surgery, was of major consequence.
“I don’t think I’ll be the quarterback, I’m more a shooter,” Rolston said, deferring to Streit’s expertise on the backend of the man advantage.
“We have so much talent we almost have three full lines that can play the power play,” Rolston added. “I’ve been around a lot of skill players, and there’s a lot of skill here.”
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Defenseman Milan Jurcina (strained left groin) and forward Rhett Rakshani (left knee injury) both left last night’s game and did not return. Their statuses will be updated today.