ELMONT, NY — Casey Cizikas has built a career on an old blue-collar mantra: It’s not glamorous work, but it’s an honest day’s work.
That’s how Monday afternoon’s matinee against the Winnipeg Jets began. Two minutes into the game, he won a face-off in the Jets’ zone, led the pressure that sustained possession on that end of the ice for nearly 40 seconds, and then he threw his body at defenseman Logan Stanley in the corner.
Cizikas, standing at 5-foot-11, is eight inches shorter than the 6-foot-7 Stanley.
Four minutes later, he was successfully killing an Anders Lee slashing penalty.
This has been Cizikas’ M.O. for 15 years now, and on Monday, those shifts officially made him the sixth player in Islanders franchise history to appear in 900 games for the team. With it, he tied club legend Bobby Nystrom for fifth, and Thursday night’s game at UBS Arena against the Edmonton Oilers will tie him for fourth with Brock Nelson.
His head coach, Patrick Roy, said it best: “He did what he had to do” to get to this point.
While skating in his 900th game for the Islanders today, Cizikas has tied #Isles legend Bobby Nystrom for 5th all-time in games played for the Islanders.
Bobby wanted to congratulate Casey himself! pic.twitter.com/wdFfFdFn30
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 13, 2025
The long-time fourth-line center between Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck created one of the most prolific energy lines in all of hockey for the better part of a decade. Fearless for his size, with an endless motor to fuel a career that has been headlined with nothing but hard work.
In 14 full seasons, he has only reached the double-digit mark in goals four times, including a surprising 20-goal campaign in 2018-19. But his physicality alongside Martin and Clutterbuck could turn games on their head in an instant, and it was a heavily relied-on lifeline during two consecutive runs to the Stanley Cup semifinals in 2020 and 2021.
“He was very blessed to play with Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck for a long period of time here,” Roy said. “That line was a really good line. [Former head coach Barry Trotz] really trusted those guys. He started games with them. That was an energy line.”
When Clutterbuck and Martin stepped away, Cizikas accepted everything that Roy threw his way when he took over as head coach in January of 2024. He started Game 1 of New York’s first-round playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes as a first-line winger alongside Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal. He then assumed winger duties on the third and fourth lines at times last season.
“He’s an energy guy,” Roy said. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve put him in so many different situations… I really trust him. I feel like if I need a face-off, I know he could win it in our D-zone. He’s been doing a pretty good job on the penalty kill. Good for him [to reach 900 games].”
