The Islanders got closer to whole on Friday, but they won’t quite be complete Monday for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Hurricanes.
Alexander Romanov (upper body) won’t play in the series opener, coach Lane Lambert said, and the defenseman has yet to join the team for practice.
As he had the entire week, Romanov skated by himself on Friday as he recovers from an injury sustained against the Lightning on April 1.
Lambert did not say whether Romanov would travel to Raleigh, N.C., with the team, and demurred when asked about a potential return later in the series.
“We’ll have to see on that,” he said. “It’s just a day-to-day that we’re not expecting [Romanov to play] in Game 1.”
While Mathew Barzal’s return from his own injury will be vital for the forward group, Romanov may be just as important to the Islanders on the back end.
The 23-year-old Russian has developed into a vital piece of the top four this season, averaging 19:27 time on ice with physical attributes that could make all the difference in a tightly contested series.
Without him, the Islanders have struggled to find consistency on the left side of their blue line, and they will need rookie Samuel Bolduc and Sebastian Aho to step into larger roles in the biggest games of the season.
Bolduc, 22, proved he has a future in the organization over 17 NHL games this season, but he has made a handful of mistakes typical of young players.
On Wednesday against the Canadiens, Bolduc played just 7:23 — getting nailed to the bench after allowing Nick Suzuki to gain body position and keep it as he scored a shorthanded goal.
“He’s a young guy who’s learning,” Lambert said. “We always hope that any player who makes mistakes, and everyone does in every game at some point or another, rebounds from it. That’s gonna be an important thing.
“If you look at the last game we played in Carolina, I thought he was very good at moving the puck. He was one of our best guys. There’s a familiarity in that building for him.”
Barzal returned to the top power-play unit at practice on Friday, replacing Kyle Palmieri. Noah Dobson, Bo Horvat, Brock Nelson and Anders Lee completed the quintet.
Palmieri played on the second unit with Aho, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Pierre Engvall and Zach Parise.
Matt Martin did not participate in line rushes on Friday, with Josh Bailey taking his place on the fourth line, with Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck. Lambert said there were no concerns about his status.
“Josh got some reps for Marty, but Marty’s playing,” he said. “Marty’s fine.”
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiV2h0dHBzOi8vbnlwb3N0LmNvbS8yMDIzLzA0LzE1L2lzbGFuZGVycy1hbGV4YW5kZXItcm9tYW5vdi1vdXQtZm9yLWdhbWUtMS12cy1odXJyaWNhbmVzL9IBW2h0dHBzOi8vbnlwb3N0LmNvbS8yMDIzLzA0LzE1L2lzbGFuZGVycy1hbGV4YW5kZXItcm9tYW5vdi1vdXQtZm9yLWdhbWUtMS12cy1odXJyaWNhbmVzL2FtcC8?oc=5
2023-04-15 06:13:00Z
CBMiV2h0dHBzOi8vbnlwb3N0LmNvbS8yMDIzLzA0LzE1L2lzbGFuZGVycy1hbGV4YW5kZXItcm9tYW5vdi1vdXQtZm9yLWdhbWUtMS12cy1odXJyaWNhbmVzL9IBW2h0dHBzOi8vbnlwb3N0LmNvbS8yMDIzLzA0LzE1L2lzbGFuZGVycy1hbGV4YW5kZXItcm9tYW5vdi1vdXQtZm9yLWdhbWUtMS12cy1odXJyaWNhbmVzL2FtcC8
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