To say Friday night was a tough one for the Islanders would be an understatement. Not only did they get shut out by the Penguins, they also lost a trio of players to injuries in wingers Josh Bailey, Andrew Ladd, and defenseman Ryan Pulock. Speaking with reporters postgame, including Kyle Schnitzer of the New York Post, head coach Doug Weight would only suggest that Bailey’s lower-body injury is likely to keep him out of Sunday’s game before they hit their bye week. Losing Bailey, who is tied for the team lead in points with 50, for any extended period of time would be devastating for an Islanders team that has now slipped to seventh in the division.
Other notes from around the Metropolitan this morning:
- With the Penguins having some injury concerns in recent weeks on the back end, Sam Werner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette speculates that this could hold up trade talks involving defenseman Ian Cole. Back in late November, Pittsburgh was believed to be shopping the veteran although they weren’t able to agree on a trade. However, with Brian Dumoulin now hurt, the Pens are back down to seven healthy blueliners and may not want to lessen their depth any further at this time.
- Carolina winger Lee Stempniak has resumed skating as he continues to work his way back from an upper-body injury, notes Michael Smith of the Hurricanes’ team site (Twitter link). The veteran has yet to play this season as a result of injury issues; he was first dealing with hip trouble and while he recovered from that, he suffered the current upper-body injury while on a conditioning assignment in the minors. With the ‘Canes in a tough battle for a playoff spot, they could certainly use the secondary production that the 34-year-old is capable of providing.