Against Rangers, Islanders Use Three Defensemen Who Didn't Play In Game Prior; Second Time That's Happened In Franchise History

With Alexander Romanov, Mike Reilly, and Adam Pelech out of the lineup due to injury, Grant Hutton, Samuel Bolduc, and Dennis Cholowski entered the New York Islanders' blue line against the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon. 

Their arrivals were a historic turnover to the defense, as it was the first time in 31 years that the Islanders changed three defensemen between games, according to MSG statistician Eric Hornick:

In The Skinny of Sunday's game, Wayne McBean, Bob McGill, and Dennis Vaske were involved in the infamous swap on Oct. 10, 1983, taking the places of Scott Lachance, Uwe Krupp, and Tom Kurvers. 

All six defensemen involved in the swap remained in the organization for the entirety of the season, but each would rotate in and out of the lineup for stretches. 

Lachance played 76 games for the Islanders that season, while Krupp and Kurvers played 41 and 66, respectively. 

McGill only played in three games for New York that season, the fewest among players involved, while McBean got only 19 games that year, and Vaske played in 65. 

Although Patrick Roy wasn't too fond of Bolduc's performance, he spoke highly of Hutton and Cholowski's efforts. 

"Hutton played well, and Cholowski played well, as well," he said. "So I mean, they were there, and they were helping them, and I was very comfortable with these two guys."

Bolduc played a team-low 5:56 against the Rangers. 

The three have a combined 192 NHL games of experience, with Cholowski having the most at 121. 

The team is likely on the lookout to make a trade for someone with more experience.