New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson missed his 10th straight game on Sunday night when his teammates battled the Dallas Stars, falling 4-3.
That means he is eligible to be activated out of long-term injured reserve on Monday and play in their game against the cross-town rival New York Rangers on Tuesday night at UBS Arena.
However, for the Islanders to activate Dobson, they need to take care of a few things.
Right now, the Islanders need to create a roster spot and clear $1.275 million to get Dobson back on the roster.
The money isn’t an issue, as the Islanders can just move the injured Mathew Barzal from injured reserve to long-term injured reserve, which creates an additional $9.15 million in available cap space.
However, a player would need to be waived to create the roster spot.
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The likely route the team will go is by placing forward Hudson Fasching on waivers by 2 PM ET.
The Islanders could elect to place defenseman Adam Boqvist on waivers, but he’s likely to be claimed. Given that Boqvist is an RFA who has played well, there’s no reason to risk losing him.
They could waive Matt Martin, who hasn't played hockey since Jan. 16 and likley won't play again this season. But would general manager Lou Lamoriello do that? No, probably not.
Ok, so after creating the roster spot, where does Dobson fit into the defense?
With Alexander Romanov playing so well alongside Tony DeAngelo, better than he did with Dobson, there’s no real reason to separate that pairing.
Scott Perunovich, who skated alongside Ryan Pulock on Sunday night in Pulock’s return, will likely come out of the lineup.
Dobson is likely to play his off-side regardless of what pair he is on, so is he a better fit alongside Pulock or alongside Mayfield?
Would the Islanders rather reunite Pelech and Pulock, which we saw at the end of the Dallas game?
Does giving Dobson bottom-pairing minutes alongside Mayfield make sense?
ROMANOV-DEANGELO
DOBSON-PULOCK
PELECH-MAYFIELD
Regardless of where Dobson plays, it makes zero sense for him to remain out of the lineup regardless of his struggles this season.
But with how much the defense has been taxed this season and three players back in the lineup who are freshly back from injuries, it would make a lot of sense to go 11 forwards and seven defensemen, at least for a bit.
Perunovich and. Boqvist could continue to fight for that seventh defenseman role.
By going 11 forwards and seven defensemen, Roy can keep all of his blueliners fresh.
As for the forward who would come out, Pierre Engvall is the top candidate, given that he’s not a checker playing on a checking line.
He did score against the Stars, his first goal in 27 games.
That would leave Kyle MacLean and Marc Gatcomb as the two forwards who, given their role as energizer bunnies, could be used when Roy and his staff deem fit.
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