PHILADELPHIA — Mike Reilly had to re-learn everything on the fly last season, not once but twice.
After he spent training camp and the season’s first couple of months with the Panthers, Reilly was picked up by the Islanders on waivers and needed to acquit himself with Lane Lambert’s system.
Two months later, when Lambert was fired, Reilly — like everyone else — had to get with Patrick Roy’s program while in the midst of a playoff chase.
This year, having re-signed with the Islanders with his lineup spot in hand, the main thing Reilly’s had to worry about was an illness that kept him out of a couple of practices.
Comparatively speaking, that’s not so bad.
“It feels nice to come in a little bit and know, obviously, the guys,” Reilly said Thursday before making his preseason debut in the Islanders’ 2-0 exhibition loss to the Flyers. “To see the coaching change, a new system in place last year but that’s something you pick up on the fly, so that’s more comforting [this year], as well. It’s nice to come back when I was there for a couple months last year and settle in and build chemistry back up.”
It’s not a stretch to say that Reilly was one of the most impactful Islanders last season given the circumstances under which he arrived.
When the Islanders claimed him off waivers, they were down two of their six defensemen with a third, Scott Mayfield, playing through injury.
Reilly helped stabilize the back end and put in one of the best seasons of his career, scoring 24 points and playing serviceable defense on the third pair.
That earned him a one-year return contract with the Islanders, and the plan is for Reilly and a healthy Mayfield to start the season as the third pair.
Getting the two some minutes together was, in fact, a big part of the reason Mayfield was in the lineup Thursday for his third preseason game in as many chances.
“It’s been good,” Mayfield said Wednesday. “He’s a great player, reminds me of some other guys [I] used to play with. We complement each other well.”
Mayfield’s defense-first play should, in theory, go well with Reilly, who prefers to jump into the rush.
The two played together 16 times last season, but that was while Mayfield was dealing with a broken ankle that eventually required surgery. This time, fingers crossed, both are healthy.
“Obviously, we’re different players a little bit,” Reilly said. “I think it could be a good mix of being able to move the puck and get it up the ice and obviously, he’s known for a long stick and he’s rangy. Obviously big and strong, I think that could be good for us. Hopefully we can build some chemistry.”
Provided the Islanders don’t deal with the same slew of injuries that set their blue line back last season, having Reilly and Mayfield as their third pair is a strong indicator of how deep they are on the back end.
Mayfield has gotten top-pair minutes and matchups as recently as two seasons ago, whereas head coach Patrick Roy has talked more than once about how strong Reilly’s play was during the first-round loss to the Hurricanes.
“He was moving the puck well. He was capable of getting out of a jam by himself and that’s what I hope to see from him and that’s what he’s been doing,” Roy said Thursday. “And I think the way he played defensively, I thought that was something. The breakout, the way he skates, the speed that he brings, I think that’s something that we — especially when we try to retrieve the puck — I think this is something we need from him.”
