Tavares unlikely for Monday
Trainer Garrett Timms walks John Tavares #91 of the New York Islanders off the ice after his injury in the game against the Dallas Stars at the Nassau Coliseum. (Oct. 9, 2010) Credit: Getty Images
UPDATE: Coach Scott Gordon said Tavares seemed pretty good after the game last night, besides having a stiff neck.
Tavares, who is expected to undergo further evaluation Monday, is supposed to ride the stationary bike under head trainer Garrett Timms' supervision today.
Although the Islanders would not say definitively, do not expect Tavares to play tomorrow against the Rangers.
Assuming Tavares does not play, Josh Bailey will move to the first-line center position and Michael Grabner will take Bailey's spot on the left wing on a line with Doug Weight and Nino Niederreiter.
After suffering a mild concussion following an open-ice collision with Stars winger Adam Burish last night, I'd say it's highly unlikely that Tavares will play tomorrow against the Rangers.
Regardless of the severity of the concussion, the standard operating procedure with head injuries generally requires a player to go 48 hours without showing any concussion-like symptoms. Once that threshold is met, a player usually must perform light aerobic activity--i.e riding a stationary bike--and prove he's symptom-free before being cleared to play.
With that loose timetable, I'd guess that the best-case scenario for Tavares would be returning on Wednesday to face the Capitals.
This will likely mean that Michael Grabner, claimed off waivers from Florida on Tuesday, will dress tomorrow against the Rangers. Coach Scott Gordon initially said he'd like to give Grabner the first two games off to acclimate, but Tavares' injury might eliminate that luxury of time.
No word yet on whether Burish will face any discipline from the league.
"I bumped into somebody and I didn't know who it was," Burish told NHL.com. "I was coming across the ice and I knew our guy was going to dump it. Tavares turned around as I was skating that way and I think we collided. I didn't know what happened. I turned around, as he was laying there. It was just an unfortunate thing. I for sure didn't mean to go after him in open ice. You hope he's OK."
***After his season debut last night, Rick DiPietro is off today to rest. I'm guessing he starts again tomorrow.
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