Stefen Rosner on Morning Cuppa Hockey Talking Islanders NEW YORK, NY -- Ahead of their practice at Madison Square Garden, the New York Islanders team announced that Mathew Barzal has been placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR), while Adam Pelech has been placed on injured reserve (IR). Both players have a recovery timeline of 4-6 weeks. Here's the other announcements: Barzal suffered an upper-body injury on Wednesday night in Columbus and left the road trip after the game. The star forward’s placement on LTIR (retro Oct. 30) gives the Islanders cap flexibility to make moves, clearing $8.15 million. On Friday against Buffalo, Pelech was injured by a deflected point shot to the facial area in the second period and did not return to the game. Barzal and Pelech’s injuries add to the Islanders' growing list of missing players, who have already struggled with the injury bug. Also, on Friday, Mike Reilly fell backward to the ice after a hit from Buffalo’s Jordan Greenway—a scary scene. Thankfully, Reilly could get up and skate with help from teammates, though the defenseman’s timeline for recovery is unknown. To make matters worse, Alex Romanov appeared to reaggravate an injury he sustained against the New Jersey Devils on October 25th. Romanov did return later in the Buffalo game due to a shortage [https://x.com/stefen_rosner/status/1852535951085465797?s=46&t=b2R27nBNWNyUfyjR91pP_A] of Islanders defensemen, but did not practice on Saturday and is day-to-day. Anthony Duclair suffered a lower-body injury earlier on October 19th and was placed on LTIR with a timeline of 4-6 weeks. Grant Hutton and Samuel Bolduc have been recalled from Bridgeport to fill the Islanders’ gaps on defense. Barzal’s absence looks to be filled in-house with the NHL roster. The Islanders play on Sunday afternoon against the New York Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] at 1 PM ET.
