The Islanders may be getting closer to a boost from the injury list, and the signs came during today’s gameday skate. According to Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News, center Mathew Barzal and winger Matias Maccelli were both full participants and had no contact restrictions. Neither will play tonight, but both are moving in the right direction.
Barzal still hasn’t appeared this season as he continues to work back from lingering knee trouble. Maccelli has been sidelined for nearly three weeks with a lower-body issue, even after opening his season well with six points in eight games before the injury.
Elsewhere in the Metropolitan, Friday brought a rough night for the Blue Jackets on multiple fronts. Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reported that center Sean Monahan and winger Dmitri Voronkov both left early because of injuries, Monahan with a lower-body issue and Voronkov with an upper-body problem. There was no postgame update on either player.
Monahan has had a quiet start to the year, with just one goal and five assists in 16 games. Voronkov has already been scratched several times and has been the subject of trade speculation, so any injury absence would pause that chatter for now.
In Carolina, defenseman Alexander Nikishin is expected to make his season debut tonight, per team reporter Walt Ruff. Nikishin signed a one-year, $3MM deal a couple of weeks ago after the trade and long-term contract he wanted didn’t come together, and he spent time getting his conditioning back up after not being with the team at training camp. He is slated to skate on the third pairing with Shayne Gostisbehere.
Ruff also noted that Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal was on the ice for today’s morning skate as an extra forward. Staal has missed the last dozen games with a calf injury. Through his first six games this season, the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner had not recorded a point, but he was still bringing his usual edge with more than three hits per game and winning nearly 56% of his faceoffs.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Fans Suddenly Have Two New Reasons To Be Frustrated
The Blue Jackets gave their fans plenty to sort through this week, and not all of it was the kind that builds excitement for the stretch run. Columbus unveiled its 2026-27 "Hometown Remix" alternate jerseys, a look that immediately stirred some debate among supporters, while the roster picture kept shifting as the club made moves involving its depth forwards and recalls from the AHL affiliate.
The bigger concern for the moment is the way the lineup keeps getting thinned out just as the team tries to steady itself. Injuries have already forced the Blue Jackets to adjust around Isac Lundestroms Achilles surgery and long-term injured reserve status, and with more personnel churn on the horizon, there is still a lot for this group to manage beyond the reaction to a new sweater. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Goalie Plan Looks Less Settled Than Fans Thought
Sergei Ivanovs path to Columbus is starting to come into focus, and it looks a little less straightforward than some fans may have assumed. The Blue Jackets 2022 draft pick is still on loan with SKA St Petersburg in the KHL, but he remains under an entry-level contract and is expected to join the organization in the spring, giving the club another young goaltending option to track as the season winds down.
What happens next will depend on how quickly Ivanov adjusts to the North American game once he arrives. The Blue Jackets are viewing him as a potential backup for next season, but there is still a development step in between, and Cleveland could be the first stop before he gets a real look in the NHL picture. For a team trying to sort out its crease long term, his progress is one of the more important storylines to watch. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jackets Face A Crucial Home Stand With Scoring Pressure Rising
The Blue Jackets are back at home trying to steady a season that has already swung from encouraging to uneven, with a 7-8-0 start and a few results that have shown both sides of the roster. A win over Colorado offered a reminder of what Columbus can look like when it is sharp, but the bigger issue has been finding that level often enough while dealing with the kind of lineup churn that can make any stretch feel heavier than it should.
Sean Monahan is out with a lower-body injury, Dmitri Voronkov is also sidelined, and Isac Lundestrom is getting closer to a return from an Achilles injury, leaving the Blue Jackets to patch together their forward group as Florida, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia come through town. Columbus has already brought in Steven Lorentz and Jack Williams for added depth, and with Charlie Coyle and Zach Werenski expected to carry major minutes, this home stand feels like a useful early test of how much scoring pressure the club can absorb before it starts to show. [Read more 🡒]