Islanders Have Missed Casey Cizikas at 5v5

He can do much more than play heavy (but he does that pretty well too).When Casey Cizikas was injured two weeks ago (he was taken off IR today), it seemed a big blow to a New York Islanders team whose early-season success at 5v5 was largely due to the performance of their centers: Brock Nelson, Mathew Barzal, Valtteri Filppula, and Cizikas. Entering the season there were big questions surrounding Nelson and Filppula, but each has far exceeded expectations, scoring goals while setting up teammates and even drawing some penalties.

Still, there is no obvious fifth center for the Islanders, and that has been evident the past six games. Thirty-five year-old Stephen Gionta only has nine points the…