The New York Islanders have announced that forward Matt Martin is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury and won’t play tonight against the Seattle Kraken. Martin played just 7:11 last night in the Islanders overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks which is below the 8:27 he has averaged this season.
Martin has a goal and an assist in 14 games to start the season and has seen his usage dip considerably which is unusual given that he is coming off one of the best seasons of his career. He has been less physical than he typically has been in the past averaging just over two hits a game which is a steep drop from the almost four hits he averaged a game last year.
No word on what specifically is keeping Martin from the lineup or if he will be able to dress for the Islanders on Saturday when they take on the Calgary Flames.
The Islanders also announced that forward Julien Gauthier is out with an illness and will miss tonight’s game in Seattle. Gauthier has been a healthy scratch more often than not this season so its hard to say whether or not he will dress when he recovers and is good to play again. The 26-year-old has no points in two games this season and the team has struggled immensely when he has been deployed for New York.
The Islanders are 5-6-4 to start the season and have already dealt with a ton of injuries just a month and a half into the regular season. They were relatively healthy going into last night’s game and can ill afford to lose any regular starters at this point.
Not a big deal, The Isles need goals not sandpaper!!
Wow, in only a two game sample Gauthier has sunk the ship, lol! ;p