BREAKING: Alexander Romanov Tears ACL, Out 6-8 Months

The New York Islanders lost a hard-fought game against the New York Rangers 5-2 on Tuesday night inside Madison Square Garden.

While the loss itself was bad enough, the immediate concern became focused elsewhere.

Defenseman Alexander Romanov left the game early in the third period with an apparent injury.

At the time, the severity of it was unclear, and concern seemed mild around the Islanders. 

Postgame, Head Coach Peter DeBoer said Romanov was still being evaluated.

The hammer dropped Wednesday afternoon. The Islanders announced the devastating news that Romanov suffered a torn ACL, and will be out the next 6-8 months.

It's a stunning blow for the Islanders and Romanov. 

The math suggests it's another regular-season-ending injury. The Islanders' regular season ends April 10, which is almost exactly six months from now.

For Romanov, you just can't help but feel all the sympathy in the world for the Russian defender.

Romanov's an electric personality in the locker room, is Ilya Sorokin's best friend, and for the second straight season, his season's over before Thanksgiving.

The Russian defenseman's season ended last year in Dallas when Mikko Rantanen threw a cheap-shot hit into the boards, causing a major shoulder injury to Romanov.

Romanov came close to returning and might've been ready for the playoffs had the Islanders made it. 

The 26-year-old played 15 games last year, and only three this year before this ACL tear.

The play the tear happened, Romanov's final shift, looked almost entirely innocent.

Romanov goes in and throws a check. Then, as he skates away, his leg pulls up on him, and he shakes it out a couple times, looking uncomfortable.

He did not return, and now it's known his ACL tore on this play.

The immediate impacts for the Islanders are massive. Romanov had been playing a top-four role, on a pairing with Ryan Pulock.

Now, the Islanders will almost certainly break up the pairing of Adam Pelech and Matthew Schaefer to fix their left-side issues.

Scott Mayfield is presumably the next man up, while Matthew Kessel now likely moves up to be the team's seventh defenseman.

In Hamilton, Isaiah George, Kashawn Aitcheson, and Marshall Warren all represent potential call-ups at some point down the line.

While the Islanders will now have the open roster spot, they will likely hold onto that and use it to activate Mathew Barzal.

Barzal is expected to skate tomorrow, with the hope he can return to the lineup next week.

It's a jarring moment for the Islanders. This is a team that struggled mightily to replace Romanov last year, eventually settling on Carson Soucy.

Soucy did not fit overly well, and left via free agency. 

This year, Logan Stanley will hold down the third pairing. Through three games, he's looked to be an exponentially better fit for the Islanders.

This year, there is more NHL-proven depth. How the Islanders handle this test remains to be seen.