If Max Shabanov continues to perform at his current level after recovering from an upper-body injury, two outcomes seem almost certain.
Firstly, the Islanders have scored a significant victory by securing Shabanov from the KHL last summer, beating out several other interested teams.
Secondly, it won’t be long before Shabanov moves off the fourth line, where he has played in two of his three appearances since his return.
However, considering the fourth line’s outstanding performance Thursday night, removing Shabanov from it would be an unwise decision.
The Russian winger’s impressive two-goal, three-point performance was the highlight of the Islanders’ 5-0 victory in Detroit on Friday, marking a significant breakthrough for the 25-year-old athlete.
His immediate rapport with Cal Ritchie boosted their gameplay, transforming the fourth line into a formidable force. Shabanov, whose resilience against NHL-level physicality was initially a concern, confidently engaged in gritty play, proving effective in the corners and on the forecheck.
And his skill with the puck, which has never really been a question, was on display in his second goal Thursday with a spellbinding piece of stickhandling and finish past Red Wings goalie John Gibson.
“I feel good. I’m just so excited about my game,” Shabanov said Thursday via Alexander Romanov, who acted as an impromptu interpreter in the postgame dressing room. “I’m so excited that the team won. Good night for me.”
Shabanov is just nine games into his NHL career, and not every game will be like Thursday’s.
The other Russian free agent on the Islanders’ roster, Max Tsyplakov, is currently out of the lineup after an up-and-down rookie season, and has struggled to bring his game to the next level in North America, despite obvious talent.
There have been, and will be, moments in which Shabanov struggles with that jump, too.
Right now, though, the way he, Ritchie and Casey Cizikas are elevating each other on that fourth line is obvious to see.
“You can see, he played really well tonight,” Ilya Sorokin said Thursday. “Watching, he should do [that] every game. Play more pucks, I think being [more] confident game by game.”
It is not a traditional fourth line with two offense-first players in Shabanov and Ritchie. But it is working.
“He’s so smart,” Ritchie said. “He’s always looking to make a play. Has a good awareness of where guys are on the ice at all times. That pass to me on my goal is unreal. Obviously he had three points (later amended to two) tonight that were unreal.”
Ritchie’s game has jumped up a level, too. Some of that has to do with the simple matter of the 21-year-old spending more time in the NHL, but it’s impossible to ignore Shabanov’s impact within that equation.
“I think I’m starting to get more settled in,” Ritchie said. “I think all along I was playing good hockey, I thought. Just a matter of time to start getting those bounces and start creating more offensively. I think just settled in, been getting some chemistry with these guys.”
Cizikas, who finished the game with two assists, isn’t used to playing on a line like this, but you wouldn’t know it from watching.
“The three of us [are] just staying with it,” he told The Post. “Reading off each other really well, creating chances, and those two guys are extremely skilled. They see the ice really well. They handle the puck well and you can tell by the plays that they’re making out there, they find each other. Make those difficult plays look easy, and I think that’s where it stems from. Keeping it simple, but I think they’re making the plays that need to be done.”
