New York Islanders News: Jaroslav Halak, Travis Hamonic Updates
In recent New York Islanders news, it was announced that goalie Jaroslav Halak will be joining Anders Lee on the sidelined, while defenseman Travis Hamonic has a chance to play Game 1.
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Recent New York Islanders news has been a mixed bag of sorts. The Islanders and Florida Panthers will be starting their first round playoff series on Thursday night at the BB&T Center, but the Islanders could be without some main pieces.
The injury bug hit the Islanders at a bad time, just as it did last season. Last season the team was without defenseman Travis Hamonic for the playoffs because of a knee injury. This year they will be without forward Anders Lee, who fractured his leg against the New York Rangers as a slap shot from teammate Johnny Boychuk struck him. He may require surgery, and will not be seen on the ice again this season.
But, he is not the only Islander dealing with an injury. Two more key pieces, goaltender Jaroslav Halak and Hamonic, are also dealing with injuries heading into the postseason. Halak has a groin injury, while Hamonic is dealing with yet another knee injury. Will the Islanders be able to count on them for a postseason run?
The answer was not as positive as fans would have hoped. According to Peter Botte of the New York Daily news, Halak will miss the first round series against the Panthers. But, the prognosis is a little more positive on Hamonic, as coach Jack Capuano made it sound like Hamonic would try and get on the ice for Game 1.
Capuano confirms Halak is officially out this series. But sounds like Hamonic will try to play Game 1.
— Peter Botte (@PeterBotte) April 12, 2016
Halak has been sidelined since March 8th because of the groin injury he suffered in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He has been skating with pads, but he looks to be some ways away from returning to the ice for game action. While Halak is the veteran, backup Thomas Greiss has been solid replacing him, with a record of 23-11-4 and a goals against average of 2.36 and save percentage of .925, all solid numbers.
The news of Halak being out hurts the Islanders a bit, as they may have to turn to either Christopher Gibson or Jean-Francois Berube in Game 2; with a weird schedule of a back-to-back for Game 1 and 2, the Islanders may have to turn to someone else other than Greiss as the starting goaltender.
Greiss has made starts on back-to-back nights once this season, and may be asked to do it once again in Game 1 and 2. If the Islanders can steal Game 1, it would probably make the decision of resting Greiss an easier one, but if they lose Game 1 it would be asking a alot of Berube or Gibson to even up the series for the Islanders.
Next: Keys To A Successful Postseason For New York Islanders
Hamonic has not played since March 31st when he banged knees with Scott Hartnell in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. While he may not stuff the stat sheet such as Nick Leddy, Hamonic is an important part of the Islanders’ defenseman rotations. Hamonic played in 72 games for the Islanders in the regular season, missing the last six games of the season.