Horvat day-to-day with lower body and other notes from NY Islanders practice

Is it too much to ask to have a healthy roster?

The good news at the New York Islanders' Saturday morning practice was that Mathew Barzal and Adam Pelech appear on track to make their long-awaited return to the lineup on Sunday afternoon in Chicago. However, Barzal is considered a game-time decision. Anthony Duclair will travel with the team but is not expected to play.

The not-so-great news was that Bo Horvat was absent. The Islanders announced that the top-line center is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The extent of the injury is unknown, though he will travel to Chicago, meaning there's a chance he could play. Either way, fans will have to wait a bit longer to see the Islanders' first line, the one fans thought had a chance to be 'dangerous,' back in action

Barzal centered Duclair and Anders Lee at practice, while Pelech was reunited with Ryan Pulock. The veterans are aiming to regain their top-pair swagger. The Isles currently have eight defensemen, and based on the pairings, Dennis Cholowski, who leads the backend with three goals this season, is the sixth defenseman. He was skating alongside Scott Mayfield, while Isaiah George and Grant Hutton were a pair. The plan is for George and Cholowski to rotate in the last D spot.

Perhaps the best and most encouraging sign of all was that defenseman Mike Reilly, recovering from heart surgery, skated on his own before practice as he tried to work his way back from both the concussion he suffered in Buffalo and the procedure held weeks later to remedy a previously undetected heart condition. Semyon Varlamov (lower body) also remained out as Patrick Roy is likely to lean on Ilya Sorokin for another start on Sunday after two days off.

Later today, we'll find out if Pierre Engvall and Oliver Wahlstrom both clear waivers. With six years left on his contract, Engvall is at no risk of being claimed, while a team may be willing to claim Wahlstrom, a former first-rounder with a plus shot in need of a change of scenery.