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New York Islanders Activate Matt Martin Off IR, Share Other Injury Updates

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The New York Islanders have activated Matt Martin from injured reserve. The forward hsan’t played since November 15th, battling an upper-body injury. He was formerly activated on November 28th but faced setbacks that required him to be placed back on IR. Martin appeared in 14 games before being moved to IR, scoring two points and recording seven penalty minutes. The 34-year-old is in his 15th NHL season, with all but two years coming with the New York Islanders. Martin ranks eighth all-time in games played for the Islanders franchise, joining a top 10 that also features long-time teammates Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson, and Casey Cizikas.

The Islanders also shared that Julien Gauthier is set to miss the team’s Wednesday night matchup against the Washington Capitals with an upper-body injury. Oliver Wahlstrom is expected to fill in for Gauthier, after serving as a healthy scratch for the team’s last seven games. Wahlstrom has scored five points in the 17 appearances he’s made this season. Gauthier has also spent time as a healthy scratch this season, only appearing in 14 of the team’s 31 games. He’s tied Wahlstrom’s five points in his outings.

Finally, New York head coach Lane Lambert shared that none of Ryan Pulock, Scott Mayfield, or Adam Pelech traveled with the team on their two-game road trip that takes them up to the league’s holiday break. All three defenseman are currently on injured reserve, with Pelech placed on long-term IR on November 25th. All three of the injured defenders have averaged 19-or-more minutes of ice time in the games they have appeared in, speaking to the impact that their absences makes on the Islanders lineup.

New York Islanders Place Scott Mayfield On Injured Reserve

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The New York Islanders have placed defenseman Scott Mayfield on injured reserve, retroactive to December 11th. Mayfield has been out with an upper-body injury since that date.

With Mayfield out, the Islanders are now missing three of their four most important defensemen. Just Noah Dobson remains in the lineup, as Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock are also out with their own injuries.

This has left head coach Lane Lambert short on options as to how to staff not only his even-strength defensive pairings, but also (and especially) his penalty kill. Pelech, Pulock, and Mayfield all play massive roles on the team’s short-handed unit, and with the trio injured the Islanders are relying on players who don’t typically see heavy ice time on the penalty kill.

The Islanders have made two external additions to bolster their defensive depth, adding veterans Mike Reilly and Robert Bortuzzo, and those moves have helped. The Islanders are on a four-game winning streak and making a serious push for position in the Metropolitan Division.

But one has to think that a defense patched together with depth blueliners alongside relatively unestablished names such as Sebastian Aho and Samuel Bolduc can only hold down the fort for so long, regardless of how good the team looks in the immediate term.

The Islanders have won a ton of close victories, and while it’s true that close victories count the same amount in the standings as blowouts, one wonders how the conversations surrounding the team would be different if a few of those results were flipped.

That being said, it must be pointed out that this Islanders team is one seemingly constructed to thrive in close games, using goaltending and a balanced forward corps to grind out victories. So while the injuries that have struck their defense appear to be significant, the Islanders could very well continue their winning ways by following that clear blueprint.

Seeing as Mayfield’s IR placement is retroactive, there appears to be hope that the player will be able to return to the ice without a lengthy absence. But even if he is out longer than expected, the Islanders have found ways to win despite losing important players to injury. There’s no reason to believe that the team can’t do the same for as long as Mayfield is on IR.

Islanders Recall Grant Hutton As Scott Mayfield Faces Injury

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The New York Islanders have brought defenseman Grant Hutton back to the NHL after sending him to the minors on December 11th. This recall comes in light of Scott Mayfield suffering an upper-body injury that will hold him out day-to-day.

Mayfield joins a list of Islanders defensemen facing injury, with the team already without top defenders Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech. The team recently acquired Robert Bortuzzo from the St. Louis Blues to provide depth to the back end. The new addition has appeared in two games with the Islanders, recording two penalty minutes and a -1.

Hutton rejoins the squad to again serve as the team’s seventh defenseman. The 28-year-old has only appeared in two NHL games this season. They were his first appearances in the league since he played 16 games in the 2021-22 season – his only other handful of NHL ice time. Hutton has one goal and four penalty minutes through his 18 combined NHL games.

The Islanders signed Hutton as an undrafted free agent following the conclusion of Miami University’s 2018-19 season. Hutton totaled 144 collegiate games over four seasons at Miami, scoring 71 points and recording 114 penalty minutes. He’s spent much of his professional career with the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he’s played a total of 189 games and scored 67 career points. He’s also added 91 penalty minutes and a -12. These tallies include the five assists, 14 penalty minutes, and -5 that Hutton has recorded in 16 AHL games this season.

Hutton and Bortuzzo will serve as important depth pieces for the Islanders as they look to ride out all of the injuries to their blueline.

Injury Notes: Pelech, Dermott, Tinordi, Athanasiou

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The New York Islanders have announced that defenseman Adam Pelech will be out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The 29-year-old was on the ice for the team’s optional morning skate but was a late scratch for this evening’s game against the Boston Bruins. He has been in and out of the lineup this week having previously missed the Islanders 4-3 OT loss against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Pelech did return to the lineup on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild but took a maintenance day yesterday before the morning skate today.

Pelech has just a single assist in ten games thus far this season but has averaged over 20 minutes of ice time per game when available. The Islanders seventh defenseman Samuel Bolduc has filled in for Pelech during his absences including tonight as he is slotted beside Scott Mayfield. While Bolduc has played hard, he has struggled to fill the void left by Pelech and has no points in eight games.

In other injury notes:

  • The Arizona Coyotes have announced that defenseman Travis Dermott will be out of the lineup week-to-week with an apparent upper-body injury. The Coyotes called up Michael Kesselring yesterday to work in Dermott’s absence, although it is likely that recent healthy scratch Josh Brown will slot into Dermott’s place and Kesselring will serve as the team’s seventh defenseman. Very little is known about Dermott’s ailment or when he suffered the injury but for now it appears at least for the time being that Dermott’s absence will be an extended one. Dermott has a single assist in ten games so far this season and is currently a -4.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks have announced that defenseman Jarred Tinordi left tonight’s game and will not be returning. The 31-year-old left without any obvious reason or clear injury and no specifics have been given yet. Tinordi drew back into the lineup tonight for the first time since last Saturday and was tasked with replacing Nikita Zaitsev. Tinordi has dressed in eight games on the season and has a single assist while playing roughly 16 minutes a night.
  • The Blackhawks also announced that forward Andreas Athanasiou will not be returning to tonight’s game after suffering an apparent injury. Athanasiou left the game near the end of the second period although little is known as to the reason why. The 29-year-old was a healthy scratch recently and has struggled so far this season with no goals and four assists in ten games. Last year he posted 20 goals and 20 assists in 81 games and seemed to have more jump in his game.

Metropolitan Notes: Horvat, Nedeljkovic, Ludvig

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New York Islanders reporter Andrew Gross has tweeted that New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat did not dress for tonight’s game against the Minnesota Wild. It is the first game Horvat has missed as a member of the Islanders since he was acquired via trade from the Vancouver Canucks this past January. The 28-year-old was considered a game-time decision after blocking a shot late in Saturday night’s overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes but ultimately did not dress.

Horvat is off to a solid start this season with four goals and five assists in his first 10 games of the season and his absence will create a rather large hole for the Islanders to try and fill. The club has had to deal with multiple injuries to start the season with Adam Pelech, Scott Mayfield and now Horvat all missing some time. Should he miss an extended period, the Islanders will have to do more shuffling of the lines to try and fill the void. The team has started the season well all things considered, at 5-2-3 the Islanders are currently tied for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

In other Metropolitan notes:

  • Josh Yohe of The Athletic reported today that Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan offered an update on injured Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. Sullivan told the media that the 27-year-old netminder is back on the ice and is making progress towards a return. Not much is known about Nedeljkovic’s lower-body injury as he was hurt back on October 24th in a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. He was placed on LTIR the very next day meaning that the earliest he can return to the Penguins lineup is on November 19th.
  • Josh Yohe also reported that Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman John Ludvig is also back on the ice skating and is making progress towards a return. Ludvig suffered a concussion on October 24th against the Dallas Stars after laying a hit that resulted in him sustaining the head injury. Mike Sullivan told reporters that the team will see what happens after their road trip meaning that the likeliest the 23-year-old could return is November 11th. Ludvig was acquired off waivers before the season and has dressed in one game thus far this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Islanders, Backstrom, van Riemsdyk, Trade Interest

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Picking up eight points in their last five games, the New York Islanders were able to recorrect a tepid start to the season. Today, Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News issued some updates on several members of the Islanders team, including Bo Horvat, Scott Mayfield, and Adam Pelech.

Rosner reports that Horvat is day-to-day with an injury, it he is questionable to play in the team’s game tomorrow night against the Minnesota Wild. Being one of the most important parts of their offense, Horvat’s offensive presence will be greatly missed even for a game or two on a team that is still struggling to score goals at a high rate.

Pelech, on the other hand, already missed the team’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes two nights ago due to a lower-body injury, but Rosner indicates that he looked good at practice today, but still remains questionable for tomorrow night. Dissimilarly, Mayfield was notably absent from the team’s practice today, but Rosner confirmed it was merely a maintenance day and that Mayfield is not dealing with any sustaining injuries.

Other notes:

    • Nearly a week ago, it was reported that Washington Capitals forward, Nicklas Backstrom, would be stepping away from the team due to a lingering injury that does not appear to be going away. In an earlier report from today, Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network relayed a message from the General Manager of the team, Brian MacLellan, who says that is ’unlikely’ that Backstrom will return to the team this year. After missing much of the season last year, it appears that Backstrom will miss nearly two full seasons of hockey due to his ongoing hip injury.
    • Sticking with the Capitals, it was apparent during their game on Saturday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, that defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk had sustained some sort of injury. The team was hoping that it would not be a long-term injury, and after proper evaluations, Tom Gulitti of the NHL reports that van Riemsdyk is only considered day-to-day, but will not practice with the team today.
    • Only a few weeks ago, multiple reports indicated that the Capitals were very interested in the idea of acquiring forward Conor Garland from the Vancouver Canucks. Although not mentioning Garland specifically, and now factoring in the absence of Backstrom in the lineup, Ethan Cadeaux of Monumental Sports Network confirms that Washington is indeed still looking for an addition to the team’s top six forward unit, and their motivation has increased since the news from Backstrom.

Evening Notes: Killorn, Mayfield, Puljujarvi

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Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune is reporting that Anaheim Ducks forward Alex Killorn was no longer in a non-contact jersey at Ducks practice today after wearing one yesterday. The 34-year-old has yet to suit up for Anaheim after signing an eyebrow-raising four-year $25MM contract in the offseason as a free agent. Killorn spent the first 11 seasons of his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Killorn suffered a fractured finger in the preseason in a game against the San Jose Sharks that has delayed his debut in Anaheim by a little over a month. The Ducks have high hopes for Killorn who is coming off a career year last season in which he scored 27 goals and 37 assists in 82 games.

In other evening notes:

  • Ethan Sears of New York Post Sports is reporting that New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield has returned to action tonight against the Washington Capitals. The 31-year-old suffered a lower-body injury on opening night and was deemed a game-time decision earlier today. The Islanders have been without Mayfield for seven games and have missed his physical and defensive presence in their lineup. Islanders seventh defenseman Samuel Bolduc has been filling in for Mayfield but has been averaging a team-low 8:30 of ice time per game.
  • TSN’s Chris Johnston of Insider Trading is reporting that former Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Puljujarvi is eyeing an NHL return in early to mid-December after undergoing hip surgery in the offseason. Puljujarvi became an unrestricted free agent after he was non-tendered a qualifying offer by the Carolina Hurricanes that followed a trade there late last season by the Oilers. The 25-year-old was once a highly touted prospect after being selected fourth overall but has never lived up to those lofty expectations managing just 51 goals and 63 assists in 334 NHL games.

East Notes: Heinen, Mayfield, Hinostroza, Zohorna

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Free agent forward Danton Heinen is still on a professional tryout with the Bruins almost a month into the season, but it appears that’s about to change. The 28-year-old took full line rushes with the Bruins at practice this morning, indicating a contract signing could come ahead of Monday’s game against the Panthers.

The 6-foot-1, 188-pound winger is expected to make his return to Beantown in a fourth-line role with John Beecher and Oskar Steen if he does sign, with Patrick Brown sitting out. The Bruins currently have nearly $1.5MM in cap space to play with – forward Milan Lucic is on long-term injured reserve due to a lower-body injury, giving GM Don Sweeney some flexibility he’s yet to have this season. Heinen, a fourth-round pick of the Bruins in 2014, amassed 103 points in 220 contests with the team before they traded him to the Ducks during the 2019-20 season.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference this morning:

  • Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield returned to practice today for the first time since sustaining a foot injury early this month, according to Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. However, he’s not yet ready to return to game action and will miss an eighth straight game against the Red Wings tonight, instead likely aiming for a return against the Capitals on Thursday. The 6-foot-5 defender, already 30 years old, is beginning a seven-year extension earning him $3.5MM per season. The Islanders are off to a decent 4-2-1 start but have struggled to control play, and their 48.3% expected goals share (per MoneyPuck) ranks 22nd in the league. They’ve yet again received spectacular netminding from Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov.
  • The Penguins have once again recalled Vinnie Hinostroza and Radim Zohorna from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and they participated in practice this morning, per Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff. The two were papered down after the Penguins’ last game, helping the team bank cap space on off days while netminder Alex Nedeljkovic remains on LTIR. Zohorna has two points through four contests this season, while Hinostroza has yet to make his Penguins debut.

Metropolitan Notes: Williams, Mayfield, Ludvig, Nedeljkovic

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The Hurricanes are inducting longtime winger Justin Williams into their club Hall of Fame this season, per a team announcement. Williams retired as a Hurricane after wrapping up a 19-year, 1,264-game career in 2020 and could be a longshot candidate for induction into the overall Hockey Hall of Fame down the road after winning three Stanley Cup championships.

The first of those three wins came as a Hurricane in 2006, which remains the franchise’s only championship to date. After exploding for a then-career-high 31 goals and 76 points in the regular season, Williams averaged over 21 minutes per game in the playoffs and logged 18 points in 25 games as the Hurricanes defeated the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final. He would go on to play a major role in the Los Angeles Kings’ two Stanley Cup wins in 2012 and 2014, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in the latter after scoring 25 points in 26 games and leading the team with a +13 rating. After a later stint with the Capitals, Williams returned to the Hurricanes in 2017 and helped the team’s young core of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and others make the postseason in 2019 after a decade-long drought. His 15 career points in Game 7s are the NHL all-time record, and he’s remained with the Hurricanes post-retirement in an advisory role to GM Don Waddell.

Other tidbits from Metropolitan Division teams today:

  • Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield is back skating after sustaining a foot injury earlier this month. However, head coach Lane Lambert told Newsday’s Andrew Gross today that he hasn’t joined the team at practice, and there remains no timetable for his return. Mayfield remains on the active roster, although he hasn’t played since logging 16:47, two shots, two hits, and four blocks in the team’s season opener against the Sabres on October 14. 22-year-old Samuel Bolduc has entered the lineup in Mayfield’s stead, although he remains without a point and has a -1 rating in shockingly limited usage, averaging just 8:49 per game. Mayfield, 31, is in the first season of a seven-year, $24.5MM contract extension signed last summer.
  • Penguins defenseman John Ludvig did indeed sustain a concussion in last night’s loss against the Stars and remains out of the lineup indefinitely, head coach Mike Sullivan told the Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh Wednesday. Ludvig, 23, had played just 5:29 in his NHL debut when he attempted to land an open-ice hit on Stars forward Radek Faksa, whose helmet collided with Ludvig’s jaw and caused him to fall to the ice. Pittsburgh claimed the young defenseman off waivers from the Panthers at the beginning of the season.
  • While he played the whole game, another Penguin sustained an injury yesterday – netminder Alex Nedeljkovic, who could not be a full participant in practice today thanks to an undisclosed injury. A summer free agent addition to serve as the backup to starter Tristan Jarry, Nedeljkovic made 30 saves on 34 shots last night, his first start since an October 14 win against the Flames. Overall, Nedeljkovic has fared well through two contests, posting a .914 SV% and 3.01 GAA after posting the worst numbers of his career last season with the Red Wings.

Injury Notes: Dvorak, Mayfield, Penguins

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Montreal Canadiens forward Christian Dvorak has so far missed the entirety of his team’s young season, though his absence could be quickly coming to an end. The Canadiens announced today that Dvorak “wore a standard practice jersey during the on-ice session” of today’s practice. It can be inferred from this that a return to game action for Dvorak is on the horizon.

Dvorak’s return would come at an important time for the Canadiens, who are reeling from the season-long loss of second-line center Kirby Dach. Dvorak isn’t Dach, but he has scored at a 42-point pace as a Canadien and offers genuine value at the faceoff dot. There’s a possibility Dvorak takes the second-line center job Dach vacated, shifting Alex Newhook back to the wing. It’s possible Dvorak ends up on the third line with Brendan Gallagher in a move that might land Sean Monahan with Newhook and Juraj Slafkovský, the latter a player Monahan showed genuine chemistry with last season.

Some other notes from across the NHL:

  • New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield will miss tonight’s game due to his lower-body injury, according to head coach Lane Lambert. (as relayed by Newsday’s Andrew Gross) Mayfield did skate this morning, something Lambert called a “first step” toward a return to full game action. The Islanders have gotten off to a strong 2-0-0 start, but maintaining that momentum could be more difficult without Mayfield, who is one of the Islanders’ more important defensemen. Mayfield ranked second on the team in time on ice per game last season, skating in 21:01 per night including a team-leading 2:41 logged short-handed.
  • According to Pittsburgh Penguins team reporter Michelle Crechiolo, defenseman Kris Letang and forward Noel Acciari were both back on the ice for this morning’s practice. The pair had missed yesterday’s practice due to injury, and there was some uncertainty over how long those ailments would keep the players out of head coach Mike Sullivan’s lineup. Thankfully for the Penguins, though, it appears both Acciari and Letang won’t have to face extended absences due to those injuries.

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