The New York Islanders lost 2-1 to the St Louis Blues on Saturday, marking their second game without a key defender. The Islanders lost Alexander Romanov to an injury after a hit by Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen on Tuesday. Now, they will be without the defenseman for a while. The team announced Sunday that Romanov will miss 5-6 months with a shoulder injury.
“Isles Injury Update: Alex Romanov is out 5-6 months. He will have shoulder surgery,” the team account posted.
For the two games Romanov has missed so far, the Islanders have deployed Adam Boqvist in his place. They also called up Marshall Warren to be the 7th defenseman, and could put Isaiah George in once he is healthy and back playing in Bridgeport. But the Islanders gave Romanov a big extension to be a top-four defender. After a tough start to the season, his campaign may be over.
The most optimistic timeline, as laid out by the team, has Romanov missing the rest of the regular season. It would be a disappointing way to finish the campaign, but the timeline does leave open a return in the postseason. The Islanders did not have playoff aspirations coming into the season, but got hot on a recent road trip to jump into contention.
The Islanders are back in action again on Sunday against the Seattle Kraken. They have not performed well against the Kraken since Settle joined the league, with a 2-4-2 record. But this one means more, with former head coach Lane Lambert coming in as Seattle's bench boss for the first time. Without Romanov, they are 1-1 with just one goal allowed, so their defense and goaltending are still strong.
The Islanders and Kraken face off at 5 p.m. Eastern with Adam Boqvist likely in the lineup again for New York amid Romanov's absence.
