Thomas Hickey made his second career playoff appearance in Game 5 Thursday night.
He got the nod over rugged blueliner Matt Carkner in the contest. Hickey hadn't played since Game 1. He has no points, six blocks and a minus-2 rating against the Penguins in New York's quarterfinal series.

Thomas Hickey has enjoyed being paired with Lubomir Visnovsky for the past two months.
"He's such a positive guy, so it's mostly 'good job' or 'keep doing that,'" Hickey said. "You see the decisions he makes, when to jump into the play and when we switch sides inside the zone to confuse the coverage. I'm picking up a lot." The 24-year-old has played in 37 games with the Islanders during his first NHL season, while posting four points and a plus-10 rating.

Thomas Hickey contributed two assists in the Islanders' 6-3 win over Montreal Tuesday night.
In 16 games this campaign, he has three points and a plus-1 rating while seeing 14:29 of average ice time. The 24-year-old defenseman is playing in his first NHL season after he was claimed off waivers by the Islanders in January.

Thomas Hickey has been a healthy scratch for the past three games, but he's expected to play Tuesday night against Ottawa.
The Islanders lost defenseman Brian Strait to a broken ankle Monday, so Hickey is poised to take his place. Hickey has no points and a minus-5 rating in eight games with New York this campaign after being claimed off waivers from Los Angeles back in January.

The New York Islanders have claimed Thomas Hickey off waivers from the Los Angeles Kings.
Hickey was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2007 draft by the Kings, but he was never able to crack the team's lineup so he is still waiting to make his NHL debut. Hickey has 12 points in 33 games with Manchester in the AHL this campaign. The Islanders added another defenseman in Joe Finley off waivers from Buffalo on Monday, so they are creating some competition for roster spots.

Thomas Hickey scored his third goal of the season as his Manchester Monarchs dropped a 3-2 decision to Worcester Monday.
Hickey has been a major disappointment since being drafted fourth overall in the 2007 Draft. The defenseman has been surpassed by many on the Kings depth chart and he now has 10 points on the season after his power play goal. Hickey will likely need a change of scenery if he is able to make the NHL as he will turn 24 years of age in February.