The Latest In The Islanders’ Blue-Line Shuffle

With Alexander Romanov sidelined by a torn ACL, the Islanders shake up their defense pairings as Scott Mayfield returns against Chicago.

ELMONT, NY — The New York Islanders (1-2-0) host the Connor Bedard-less Chicago Blackhawks (1-3-0) tonight at 7:30 PM ET.

The bad news is that the Islanders will be without defenseman Alexander Romanov after he tore his right ACL in Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers.

That means Scott Mayfield is returning to the lineup after sitting out the first three games. But it’s not just a Mayfield-for-Romanov swap.

Here are the defense pairings (breathe):

Logan Stanley–Matthew Schaefer
Adam Pelech–Ryan Pulock
Tony DeAngelo–Scott Mayfield

In this game-day notebook, we’ll start with the new defense pairings, what Mayfield and his teammates had to say about his return to the lineup, and their reactions to Romanov going down and some quotes on Mathew Barzal skating on his own.