With no appearance by forward Jordan Eberle at the team’s morning skate, the New York Islanders decided to make a roster move to insure the team has enough depth by announcing they have placed the injured Eberle on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. The move is retroactive to Oct. 12 when he was initially injured, meaning he could be activated at any time. The team needed some extra depth after realizing that Leo Komarov was also expected to miss Saturday’s game.
Eberle, of course, will not play against the division-rival Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. The 29-year-old winger has yet to score in five games with the Islanders this season, but has three assists. While some were expecting that the streaky Eberle might be the odd man out with four key unrestricted free agents to deal with this summer, Eberle was one of the first to sign on the dotted line, agreeing to a five-year, $27.5MM deal.
With the move to IR, the Islanders have recalled 26-year-old Cole Bardreau, who is expected to make his NHL debut tonight. Bardreau has played in four games with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and hasn’t registered a point. However, he put up seven goals and 12 games in 40 games last year with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL. While the forward isn’t considered to be a scorer, he’s expected to provide some grit and excels at the penalty kill.