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It was only a day before he broke his scoreless streak to start the season that Kyle Palmieri was telling Pete DeBoer that he wasn’t happy about how he was playing.
And understandably so. Even coming off an ACL injury, Palmieri has a history of success in the NHL and was put on the Islanders’ top line for a reason.
And going into Tuesday night, that top line had yet to be on the ice for a 5-on-5 goal. More specifically, Palmieri had yet to look like himself.
That’s to be expected, to some degree, as he deals with the aftereffects of an ACL tear that ended his 2025-26 season in late November. Of course, that doesn’t make it easy on Palmieri.
“We talked about that, everything he’s going through is normal,” DeBoer said. “The fact he’s not 25 makes this process even a little bit tougher but again, you saw it tonight.
“I saw signs of it last game, and I told him that. I thought last game was his best game. There was some really good signs that he was starting to get his timing back and do some of the things that he does well.”
A key piece of foresight, it turns out, as Palmieri scored for the first time in 11 months in Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the Canucks — then added the game-winning goal for good measure.
“It’s awesome to see,” Cal Ritchie told The Post. “Obviously you see how much he went through last year, that’s a hard rehab. You gotta put in a ton of work.”
Palmieri said Tuesday that the injury — and subsequent assist before he limped off the ice — “replays in your head a lot.” Maybe his tip-in from Matt Kessel will, too.
It wasn’t his first game back. But it was the first time it truly felt like the Islanders had Kyle Palmieri back.
Of course, it doesn’t change that there will be days his knee is acting up. Palmieri has said more than once that much of his time now is spent managing his body, and alluded to that again on Tuesday. Still, this night was a step — and a big one.
“I knew it was gonna be hard coming back and finding a way to be an impact player,” Palmieri said. “That process is ongoing. Obviously it feels good to get on the board and get a win tonight, but for me, it’s staying focused on the next day and getting myself ready and staying healthy.”
Simon Holmstrom was dropped to the fourth line, with Ondrej Palat moving up to the third line.
Matt Kessel was inserted into the lineup for Scott Mayfield, with Tony DeAngelo flipping back to his natural right side.
Ilya Sorokin started his fifth game in six to open the season.