Islanders' latest injuries may force them to look outside organization again for help

Lou Lamoriello acted swiftly in signing defenseman Tony DeAngelo from the KHL once it was medically determined that Noah Dobson would be out for the foreseeable future.

Now the Islanders’ president/ general manager again may be forced to look outside the organization. Defenseman Ryan Pulock is dealing with a lower-body injury and goalie Marcus Hogberg, a very pleasant surprise as a backup to Ilya Sorokin with Semyon Varlamov sidelined, potentially also is hurt.

The Islanders did not practice Sunday, so there was no update on either after both exited Saturday night’s 3-2 overtime win over the Hurricanes at UBS Arena.

“The first shift we lost Pully,” coach Patrick Roy said. “Then, during the game, Marcus got hurt and it got worse and worse. We had to put Ilya in in overtime. One thing I’m very proud of is we were resilient, but more than that, we showed character.”

Hogberg and Pulock were listed as having upper-body injuries. Pulock left 15 seconds into the game after having his skates taken out in a collision with Jackson Blake. He fell on his left side and appeared to favor his left arm as he headed to the dressing room. Blake also barreled into Hogberg in the third period. Earlier in the period, Hogberg seemed to have trouble picking up his stick after having it knocked from his hands.

Hogberg, 29, who spent the three previous seasons playing at home in Sweden, has been steady with a 2-2-0 mark, a 1.45 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage in seven appearances since being brought up from AHL Bridgeport on Dec. 5.

Varlamov, on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body issue, has not played since Nov. 29 and has not been on the ice with his teammates even though Lamoriello said on Jan. 9 that Varlamov had resumed facing shots. The hope was that he would rejoin practice the following week.

Sorokin, who started 16 of 17 games from Nov. 30-Jan. 9, has allowed only one goal in each of his last two starts and clearly has benefited from Hogberg being able to make more than the occasional spot start.

Beyond Hogberg, the three goalies on Bridgeport’s roster are Jakub Skarek, Henrik Tikkanen and Hunter Miska. Only Miska, also imported from the KHL this season, has logged a minute in an NHL contest, totaling six games between the Coyotes and Avalanche.

The Islanders have six healthy defensemen on their NHL roster even with Pulock — the only Isles blueliner to play every game this season — potentially being hurt. Dennis Cholowski was a healthy scratch on Saturday as Roy has taken to mixing and matching his defensemen liberally, whether playing with five or six. Grant Hutton, who has played 13 games for the Islanders this season, is a potential recall from Bridgeport.

Fortunately, DeAngelo, who played an effective and impressive 25:10 in his debut, seems to be a quick learner.

“It’s a similar game — especially since Patty took over — as Carolina plays,” said DeAngelo, who played for the Hurricanes in two of the last three seasons. “For me, it’s an easy adjustment as far as system. I’m just trying to get the timing back, NHL timing.”

The Islanders, with a season-high four-game winning streak, will conclude a seven-game homestand against the Avalanche on Tuesday night at UBS Arena.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.