Will The Islanders Team That Lamoriello Built For 2024-25 Ever Be 100 Percent Healthy Again?
The Islanders have been completely healthy for just two full games this season.
I want you to remember two New York Islanders 2024-25 dates: Oct. 14 and Oct. 17.
Those are the only two dates this season where the Islanders had their entire lineup healthy for a game, the lineup that general manager Lou Lamorielllo was hoping to have hit the ice more often than not this season.
Oct. 14 was Ilya Sorokin’s first game of the season after needing extra time following offseason back surgery. The Islanders beat the Colorado Avalanche 6-2 in the Mile High City for their first win of the season.
Then, on Oct. 17, the Islanders lost 1-0 in overtime to the St.Louis Blues, with Sorokin between the pipes.
When the Islanders returned home the next game against the Montreal Canadiens, that’s when offseason acquisition Anthony Duclair suffered his long-term lower-body injury.
Five games later, Mathew Barzal was injured. The next game, in Buffalo on Nov. 1, is where Adam Pelech, Mike Reilly, and Alexander Romanov all got injured.
While Reilly did suffer a concussion in that game, other tests indicated that he actually had a heart defect that he was born with, but no one knew about.
So, soon after, he underwent a heart procedure.
The procedure was a success, but there is still no timetable for his return. He’s been skating before practices and morning skates but has not yet been cleared for contact.
The Islanders were more or less back to full strength when they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Dec. 21. That was Duclair’s first game back, with Barzal and Pelech returning two games prior.
However, they still were without Reilly, a key piece to their success last season, a player whose ability to transition was never really mimicked by any of the fill-ins.
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