New York Islanders Injuries And Their Impacts On The Team

Calvin de Haan

Out until: Season
Impact on the team: 5/10

When Calvin de Haan went down with an injury we all thought that the Islanders could effectively manage his absence. They had defensive depth both in the squad and in the minors to fill any gaps they had.

We also thought that de Haan might be back. Not that he would need shoulder ending shoulder surgery.

We were wrong. We were all wrong.

Sure it didn’t help that top pair defenseman Johnny Boychuk went down with an injury just eleven days later. But his absence on the blue line was already being felt.

In the next five game after de Haan’s absence, the Islanders lost three and let in a total of 19 goals against in those five games. That’s an average of 3.8 per game.

That’s not all on de Haan. But it showed that his replacements weren’t going to help fill the void. And they still haven’t. The 7-2 win versus the Rangers gave us hope, but then the New York Islanders went all Islanders versus the Habs and let in four goals. After being up by two, twice.

Even when Johnny Boychuk comes back from injury, the New York Islanders need a top-four defensemen to even out the roster.