Deep Islander Holes To Fill, But Patience Persists -- For Now
Inside the Islanders’ injury crisis, Darche’s options and what could come next as the team tries to stay afloat in a tight playoff race.
The New York Islanders were fortunate not to deal with any major injuries through the opening month of the season. But, unfortunately, the injury bug has arrived, and it’s taken key players out of the lineup.
Alexander Romanov (right shoulder surgery) and Kyle Palmieri (torn left ACL) are out for the season, two players who do things on a game-by-game basis that are not easily filled — even if a portion of the fan base doesn’t want to admit it.
The other key loss is Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who is expected to be back before Christmas. Pageau is the club’s best shutdown forward, their top penalty killer, and No. 1 face-off guy. I don’t want to be ranking lineup losses, but Pageau’s loss might be the toughest to fill.
A lot of the talk since the injuries have piled up is about what the first-year general manager, Mathieu Darche, does to mitigate the losses.
What should he do? What can he do? What is the potential of this team without Romanov and Palmieri, and how important is making the playoffs in the grand scheme of things?
The Islanders are currently 13-9-3 and are 1-3-1 on the homestand.
Here’s what I’ve heard, plus a collection of thoughts: