The New York Islanders got a needed boost on the scoreboard Sunday night in Toronto, but the aftereffects of the 4-1 win quickly turned messy. The team picked up its fourth victory of the season over the Maple Leafs, yet by the end of the game the injury situation had swallowed up much of the good feeling.
Center Cal Ritchie was the first to go. He lasted just 28 seconds before an injury ended his night in the opening period. Later in that same period, forward Matias Maccelli also exited with a lower-body injury and needed help from teammates to make his way off the ice and into the locker room.
That left the Islanders short-handed heading into Monday, and they responded by placing defenseman Alexander Romanov on injured reserve. Romanov is expected to miss 6 to 8 months while recovering from the ACL tear he suffered in the team’s third game of the season against the New York Rangers. It’s the second straight season his year has been derailed by injury, after last year’s shoulder injury limited him to 15 games.
To help cover the roster hit, New York issued an emergency recall for Mitchell Chaffee from the Hamilton Hammers in the AHL. Chaffee signed a one-year deal in free agency this past summer and has started well in Hamilton, putting up six points in six games with four goals and two assists.
The Islanders are hoping that production can carry over. Their offense has already been uneven, and losing Maccelli won’t make life easier. He sits third on the team in points, behind only Bo Horvat and Matthew Schaefer.
Practice on Monday offered a glimpse of how the lineup may look if those absences linger. Chaffee was placed on the fourth line with Casey Cizikas at center, while Kyle MacLean, who has been a healthy scratch in all eight games so far, skated on the left wing. Kyle Palmieri moved back to the top line on the right side with Horvat in the middle and Simon Holmstrom on the left after Holmstrom’s two-goal game.
Brayden Schenn has been moved into the No. 2 center spot for Ritchie, with Emil Heineman on the left wing and Victor Eklund on the right. Ondrej Palat, JG Pageau and Anthony Duclair remained together on the third line. Mathew Barzal was still not part of the projected lines or team skating sessions as he waits to return.
On the back end, the pairings stayed unchanged, with Matthew Kessel appearing to have taken Scott Mayfield’s spot on the third pair for now while Romanov is out.
In Other News...
Logan Stanley Has Become Crucial To An Islanders Race Nobody Expected
Logan Stanley has quietly become one of the more important pieces of the Islanders blue line as the season has worn on, giving the club the kind of steady, low-drama defense it has badly needed. His fit in Peter DeBoers system has stood out because he has brought stability and reliable defensive play while taking on significant ice time, a useful development for a team that has leaned on every capable body it can find back there.
Alexander Romanovs season-ending injury is what pushed Stanley into a much larger role, and the Islanders have benefited from how quickly he settled into it. He has often been the steady presence alongside Matthew Schaefer, and for a player signed for $1.5 million this season, that kind of workload and trust has mattered a lot in a race few around the team expected to be this relevant. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Prospect Pipeline Is Building Early Momentum In Key Spots
The Islanders prospect group kept giving the organization reasons to pay attention over the weekend, with several young players stacking productive games in key junior and college spots. Tomas Poletn was one of the louder notes, putting up three points across two games for the Kelowna Rockets, while Vladimir Draveck stayed hot for the Guelph Storm with points in four straight and 10 during that span.
Burke Hood also continued to sharpen his game in net, allowing just one goal in each of his last two outings and finishing with a .975 save percentage. Bobby Cowan has been just as steady for Western Michigan University, riding a three-game goal streak and a four-game point streak as the Islanders pipeline starts to show some early momentum in multiple places. [Read more 🡒]
Islanders Playoff Push May Hinge On One Edge Over The Rangers
The Islanders have spent just over 9.5% of their season trying to sort out where they fit in the Metropolitan Division race, and the early returns have them right in the thick of it. At 4-3-1, they are already within one point of the Capitals and Sabres, a reminder that a strong start can keep a team from drifting too far from the playoff line before the schedule really settles in.
Goaltending has quickly become the swing factor, with Ilya Sorokin again central to how high this group can climb. The division picture has also been shaped by similar uncertainty around New Jersey and New York, which only makes every point feel heavier in October, especially with the Islanders still chasing the teams ahead of them and trying to keep pace in a crowded race. [Read more 🡒]