#Cal Clutterbuck ‘good to go’ for Game 5 of Islanders vs. Capitals

“#Cal Clutterbuck ‘good to go’ for Game 5 of Islanders vs. Capitals”

August 19, 2020 | 5:58pm

The Islanders’ injury scare involving Cal Clutterbuck appears to be just that.

Clutterbuck missed the third period of Game 4 on Tuesday night after taking a low hit from Radko Gudas, but the Islanders winger should be back for Thursday’s Game 5 against the Capitals.

“I talked to him, he seems pretty good to go, so I don’t see any issue right now,” coach Barry Trotz said Wednesday, a day off for the Islanders.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes to the lineup, though. Coming off a 3-2 loss in Game 4, Trotz indicated he could make some tweaks as the Islanders try to clinch the series again.

“We’re contemplating a few,” Trotz said. “We’ve talked about different situations. We’ll see where we are later tonight. I’m going to have a couple of meetings with a couple of guys. We’ll make our decisions based on what we know and what we think will help us [Thursday].”

Cal Clutterbuck is hip checked by Radko Gudas during Game 4.NHLI via Getty Images

Among the candidates to enter the lineup are defenseman Johnny Boychuk, who hasn’t played since getting injured in Game 1 against the Panthers but has been available this series; Ross Johnston, the physical winger who has been taking pregame warm-ups; and Tom Kuhnhackl, the winger who played the first three games of the qualifying round on the third line.

The Islanders’ power-play struggles have been glaring during this series, sinking to 1-for-19 on the man advantage after an 0-for-5 showing in Game 4. But they believe they’re close to finally having something to show for it.

“It’s going to go in at some point,” Anthony Beauvillier said. “We’re going to keep working on it, going to keep talking about it and gonna get the job done in the future.”

In the meantime, they’re trying to not let the frustration hurt them more than the empty power plays themselves.

“You just got to be patient,” Beauvillier said. “You’re never going to hit a home run every night or every time you’re on the power play, but it’s just about creating momentum and getting chances and feeling good about ourselves. I thought that’s what we did [Tuesday] night, it just didn’t go in.”

Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom, who has not played since getting hit by Anders Lee in Game 1, will be a game-time decision, coach Todd Reirden said.