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Alexander Romanov Back Skating With New York Islanders

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New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov is apparently back skating with the team ahead of their game 3 matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes. Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News wrote that Romanov rotated in and out of line rushes and the penalty kill, but little is being said about whether the 23-year-old will return for game 3. Romanov suffered an upper body injury on April 1 and missed the final five games of the regular season as well as games one and two of the Islanders opening round series.

Romanov had a successful first season with the Islanders after being acquired from Montreal via trade last summer. He set a career high in points with 22 in 76 games and fit in nicely on the team’s penalty kill. His 22 points were the highest point total he has posted in any level and could be jumping off point for the Russian rearguard in upcoming seasons.

The Islanders didn’t acquire the 215-pound defenseman for his offense though, they acquired him to play hard hockey this time of year and so far, he has been unable to get back into game action. The Islanders could certainly use Romanov in the lineup as rookie Samuel Bolduc has struggled as his replacement and was benched in game two. Should Romanov miss game three, it appears as though Parker Wotherspoon would draw in to replace him instead of Bolduc.

The 25-year-old Wotherspoon dressed in 12 games in his first NHL season, notching just a single assist. He could offer the Islanders a different look on the backend as they return home and try to climb back into their first round series with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Islanders trail 2-0 after losing both games by one goal.

Alexander Romanov Remains Sidelined For Game 2

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  • New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov remains out of the lineup tonight, says The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz. Romanov has been out of the lineup since April 2 with an undisclosed injury and is still listed as day-to-day, although a return doesn’t seem imminent. Samuel Bolduc, who’s drawn in for Romanov down the stretch and did so again in Game 1 Monday, recorded a +1 rating in just 8:51 of ice time against the Hurricanes.

PHR Playoff Primer: Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders

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With the start of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs just a few days away, PHR makes its first foray into playoff series analysis with our 2023 Playoff Primers. Where does each team stand in their series, and what storylines could dominate on and off the ice? We continue our look with the Metropolitan Division matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders.

The opening game of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs will feature two teams on very different paths heading into the postseason. In this rematch of a 2019 Eastern Conference Second Round series, the Hurricanes and Islanders both have something to prove.

And, like that 2019 matchup which had just four total goals through its first two games, most would expect this series to be the most defensively inclined of the first round. With the Hurricanes struggling to put pucks in the net without their two best goal-scorers, though, will they be able to break through Ilya Sorokin, the Islanders’ ace in the hole, and avoid what could be one of the biggest upsets of the postseason?

Regular Season Performance

Carolina: 52-21-9, 113 points, +53 goal differential
NY Islanders: 42-31-9, 93 points, +21 goal differential

Head-To-Head

October 28, 2022: NY Islanders 6, Carolina 2
December 10, 2022: Carolina 3, NY Islanders 0
January 21, 2023: Carolina 5, NY Islanders 2
April 2, 2023: NY Islanders 1, Carolina 2

Carolina takes the season series 3-1

Team Storylines

The question surrounding the Hurricanes is clear-cut: they’ll likely dominate the possession game in this series, but can they finish enough chances to win four out of seven games?

Goal-scoring has been the disease that’s plagued Carolina in playoffs past. In last year’s second-round elimination at the hands of the New York Rangers, Carolina only scored more than two goals in a game once, a 3-1 win in Game 5.

General manager Don Waddell made a pointed acquisition last summer to address the recurring concern by plucking Max Pacioretty away from the Vegas Golden Knights in a cap-dump move. Needless to say, it didn’t work out as planned, with back-to-back Achilles tears ending Pacioretty’s season and limiting him to just five games in a Carolina uniform.

With Andrei Svechnikov now out of the lineup, Carolina’s finishing touch has evaporated. Sebastian Aho’s pulled his weight with 36 goals this year, and Martin Necas’ career year has been a life-saving measure for the division champs. More will be needed out of support players like Teuvo Teravainen and Seth Jarvis, though, if Carolina wants to avoid an upset.

It’s an upset that more and more are surmising about publically, and for good reason. Sorokin has a legitimate claim to this year’s Vezina Trophy, and since the date of Svechnikov’s injury (March 11), Carolina is the only playoff team with a negative goal differential.

Despite Carolina’s weaknesses, the Islanders still have to execute well enough to win the series. Their 243 goals ranked just 23rd in the league and are the least among all playoff teams.

One key difference? The Islanders are getting healthy. Mathew Barzal is making his return to the lineup tomorrow night, settling on the wing alongside Anders Lee and Bo Horvat. The team’s top playmaking talent had been sidelined for almost two months with a lower-body injury.

With he and leading scorer Brock Nelson on two different lines, a fully healthy top six could be enough to crack an inconsistent Frederik Andersen in the crease for Carolina.

Prediction

With injuries playing a major factor in this series, this isn’t the David vs. Goliath matchup these two teams’ regular-season records suggest. The series will rely on opportunistic scoring to beat a stingy Hurricanes defense or an elite Islanders goalie, and could very easily see multiple momentum swings.

But despite Carolina’s suffocating pressure, the Islanders have a pointed history of eking things out in the postseason. With the momentum (and goaltending) on their side, expect some more playoff magic from a team that’s dealt with pressure all season long.

The prediction: Islanders win in seven games.

Islanders Don't Intend To Have Full Playoff Black Ace Group

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  • Although their farm team has been eliminated from playoff contention, the Islanders don’t intend to have a full taxi squad for the playoffs, head coach Lane Lambert told Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link). Teams often carry extra skaters that can be slotted in if need be in either games or practices while it’s typically beneficial for them to continue to work under the eye of team trainers.  For the time being at least, New York will opt to go without a full group of reserves although it wouldn’t be surprising to see a handful of players be brought up as insurance.

Mathew Barzal To Return For Game One

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The New York Islanders have a tall task ahead of them in their first-round playoff matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes, as they’re looking to eliminate a club many view as a Stanley Cup contender. They will get some crucial help, though, as one of the team’s top offensive players, Mathew Barzal, is set to return from injury for Game One. (via The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz) Barzal hasn’t played since a February contest against the Boston Bruins, and was on a hot streak with six points in four games before going down with his injury.

  • Although the Islanders will get Barzal back in time for the playoffs, the same can’t be said for another one of the team’s young talents. Head coach Lane Lambert told the media today, including Kurz, that defenseman Alexander Romanov will not be available for the first game of their series against Carolina. Romanov has been skating by himself and is inching closer to a return, but remains unavailable. Acquired by the Islanders at the 2022 draft, Romanov last played on April 1st and has scored 22 points this season playing nearly 20 minutes a night.

Romanov Begins Skating Again

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  • In the first year of a 3-year, $7.5MM contract signed with the New York Islanders this past summer, Alexander Romanov has been out of the lineup since the team’s game on April 1st. The Islanders are still battling for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and they may be getting Romanov sooner rather than later. Andrew Gross of Newsday is reporting that Romanov has recently begun skating on his own again. Being one of the better low-key defensemen in the NHL, Romanov has 129 blocked shots and 198 hits for the Islanders this season.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Bridgeport Islanders Sign Matthew Maggio

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  • Another signing from the CHL today, this time from the Ontario Hockey League, Matthew Maggio has signed an amateur tryout agreement with the New York Islander’s AHL affiliate Bridgeport Islanders. Originally drafted 142nd overall in the 2022 NHL Draft by the Islanders, Maggio has become one of the best young players in Ontario. In his draft year, Maggio scored 38 goals and 47 assists in 66 games, and followed that up this year with a 54-goal and 57-assist performance. He led the Windsor Spitfires to the OHL Finals last year, eventually losing to the Hamilton Bulldogs.
  • The minor league affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, Grand Rapids Griffins, has also joined the fray of signing CHL products, announcing the signing of defenseman Jérémie Biakabutuka to an amateur tryout agreement. Biakabutuka has spent the last five seasons in the QMJHL, split between the Val-d’Or Foreurs, Rimouski Océanic, and the Charlottetown Islanders. In 266 career games in major junior, Biakabutuka scored a total of 40 goals and 78 assists.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Alexander Romanov Listed As Day-To-Day

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New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov, who did not play in the team’s last game against the Carolina Hurricanes, is officially listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. There is no timeline on his return, but Islanders’ head coach Lane Lambert confirmed he will not be in tonight’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2018, Romanov became one of the better young defensemen on the Canadiens’ blue line. During his rookie season in 2020-21, Romanov played in 54 games for Montreal, primarily as a depth defenseman, and even registered four games on the Canadiens’ path to the Stanley Cup Final.

Last season, Montreal took a dive back to the basement of the NHL, and with Romanov becoming a restricted free agent, he was made available to other teams via trade during the 2022 NHL Draft. In the first round, Romanov was subsequently traded to the Islanders for the 13th overall pick (which was later traded to the Chicago Blackhawks) and then would go on to sign a 3-year, $7.5MM in New York.

This season, Romanov has progressed with the Islanders, scoring 22 points in 76 games, all while carrying a solid +13 +/-. Unfortunately for New York, Romanov is a key defenseman to be missing as the team looks to find its way back to the playoffs. As things currently sit, the Islanders hold the last wild card position in the Eastern Conference and hold a one-point lead on the Pittsburgh Penguins with the same amount of games played.

Islanders Rule Oliver Wahlstrom Out For The Season

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If the Islanders are going to earn a Wild Card seed, they’ll be doing so with winger Oliver Wahlstrom.  GM Lou Lamoriello announced today that Wahlstrom has been ruled out for the season due to a lower-body injury suffered back in December.

The 22-year-old looked to be on his way to establishing new career highs offensively as he had seven goals and nine assists in 35 games prior to the injury.  The uptick in per-game production came despite his playing time remaining relatively flat at just over 12 minutes a night as he seemed to adjust well under first-year coach Lane Lambert.

That said, this certainly isn’t the way that Wahlstrom wanted his entry-level contract to end with only playing half of his platform season.  He’s set to become a restricted free agent this summer without arbitration rights and while he’ll undoubtedly earn more than his $874K qualifying offer, he’s almost certainly looking at a short-term bridge contract.

Fortunately for New York, there was also some good news on the injury front as the Isles also revealed that center Mathew Barzal is set to resume skating either today or tomorrow.  The 25-year-old has missed more than a month with a lower-body injury but still sits second on the team in scoring with 14 goals and 37 assists in 58 games.  Getting Barzal back for the final few games would go a long way toward helping them lock down a playoff position.

New York Islanders Sign Two NCAA Free Agents

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The New York Islanders have announced the signings of two college free agents to two-year entry-level deals beginning in the 2023-24 campaign: Aidan Fulp and Travis Mitchell.

The first of these two signings, Fulp, adds a big defensive defenseman to the Islanders’ system. Six-foot-four, 215-pound right-shot defensemen don’t grow on trees, and those unreachable physical attributes alone make him an intriguing player for Islanders fans to track.

The 23-year-old, a top-four defenseman for Western Michigan, has an edge to his game and is an intimidating presence in his own zone, playing the sort of chance-killing style that many coaches have come to appreciate.

While there’s not much of an offensive game to speak of (he scored 39 points in 97 career games at Western Michigan) Fulp brings some leadership value to the table as well, having served as an alternate captain in college and as the captain of the Dubuque Fighting Saints during his time in the USHL.

He even won the Curt Hammer Award as a USHLer, an award given to the “player that distinguishes himself both on and off the ice by demonstrating outstanding performance skills, pride and determination.”

The second player the Islanders signed, Mitchell, is like Fulp a big stay-at-home defenseman. The 23-year-old Cornell University product scored 19 points in 34 games this season and earned this entry-level contract on the back of a pro-ready defensive game.

He’ll be able to hold his own in a more difficult professional setting and should be a solid addition to the Islanders’ defensive equation with their AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, next season.

These two free-agent additions represent a useful injection of young talent to what is generally seen as a weak prospect pool. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler ranked the Islanders’ farm system #27 in the NHL earlier this year, (subscription link) and that came before the Islanders dealt away top-ranked prospect Aatu Raty.

With only three blueliners in the Islanders’ top-10 prospects as ranked by Wheeler, adding these two NCAA free agents to their system is a strong, needed bit of business by GM Lou Lamoriello.

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