The Islanders had a choice. They chose a defenseman.

EAST MEADOW, NY --  The New York Islanders are dealing with another injury wave.

They lost forward Simon Holmstrom (upper body) on Dec. 29. Then they lost defenseman Isaiah George (upper body) on Jan. 2. 

Now, they've lost forward Hudson Fasching, who sustained an upper-body injury after he was hit by Boston Bruins forward Mark Kastellic in the third period of their 5-4 overtime win against the Boston Bruins. 

Per head coach Patrick Roy, all three players would not be boarding the plane as the Islanders play the final two games of their three-game road trip against the Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Hockey Club this Thursday and Saturday. 

Holmstrom has been placed on injured reserve retroactively to Dec. 29, which means he's eligible to return when ready (7-day stay). 

George is day-to-day. 

The Islanders brought up defenseman Grant Hutton from Bridgeport to serve as the seventh defenseman, and Dennis Cholowski played in George's place. 

But is there a plan to bring up another forward with the Islanders only rostering 12?

"No, not at this time," is what Roy said on Tuesday morning. 

You may be asking, "Why?"

With Hutton up, the Islanders don't have the roster space or cap flexibility to add an additional forward. 

When the Islanders placed Holmstrom on injured reserve, that created the necessary roster spot for a recall, but the team was still $743,333 over the allotted salary cap, per PuckPedia. 

To accommodate Hutton's $775,000 cap hit, the Islanders had to move defenseman Mike Reilly from injured reserve to long-term injured reserve, "clearing" $1.25 million off the books. 

So, it's clear. 

The Islanders ultimately decided that the extra blueliner was more valuable than an extra forward. It's hard to argue that.