Islanders’ Travis Hamonic leaves game early after blocking shot with right arm
New York Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic looks on from the ice against the Minnesota Wild during the first period at Barclays Center on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Travis Hamonic left Saturday night’s game after blocking a shot with his right arm in the first period, and the Islanders could be without one of their top-pair defensemen for a while.
There was no word during the game as to whether Hamonic broke a bone when he blocked a wrist shot from the Oilers’ Patrick Maroon during an Edmonton power play. The puck caromed off Hamonic’s arm and straight to Leon Draisaitl, who had an open net to tie the score at 2 at 12:13 of the first period.
Hamonic went off holding his arm and did not return. The defenseman prides himself on not missing time because of minor bumps and bruises, so the fact that he went off and immediately was ruled out for the night is a bad sign in the short term for the Islanders’ roster.
They have been carrying six defensemen for all but a few days of this season, with Ryan Pulock coming up for a brief stay when Nick Leddy missed the Oct. 21 game against the Coyotes with a finger injury.
But Pulock managed to get in only a few shifts before he was sidelined with a broken right foot, also off a blocked shot. He is midway through an absence that is expected to last four to six weeks.
The next defenseman on the recall list is likely to be Adam Pelech, who was in the lineup for AHL Bridgeport on Saturday. Pelech, who had a strong training camp, had a goal and three assists in 10 games with the Sound Tigers entering the game.
Beauvillier: 10-game mark
Anthony Beauvillier played his 10th game this season, meaning the first year of his NHL contract is now active. That 10-game mark usually prompts some hard decisions for NHL teams, but there was little thought to sending Beauvillier back to the Quebec League after his training camp and start to the 19-year-old’s first season.
Mathew Barzal, who has played only two games in a similar situation, and Alan Quine were healthy scratches.
The next point of demarcation for Beauvillier is the 39/40-game plateau — if he’s on the roster for 40 games (active or scratched), he earns a year of service time toward free agency.
