Neither of the Islanders’ top two prospects is likely to earn a spot with the NHL club out of training camp, but there was a brief glimpse of what that future could bring on Tuesday night.
At 8:04 in the first period on a night that late went south for the Islanders, Dufour spotted Nikita Soshnikov well up the ice and let loose a perfect pass to the Russian. Soshnikov proceeded to go top shelf on Vitek Vanecek.
“I’ve waited for that for two years, two and a half years,” Dufour said. “So it’s just nice to play my first NHL game.” “He’s a big body that moves really well,” Cizikas said of Dufour ahead of the match at Prudential Center in Newark. “He has a good shot. He proved that in junior and he’s gonna do that here tonight. Marty and I, we’re gonna help him out there. We’re gonna tell him play your game, do the things you’re capable of.”The assignment with two members of the Identity Line is intriguing for a player whose calling card at the junior level was scoring.