Eyes On Isles
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New York Islanders Injures and Illness Start Piling up

By Michel Anderson

UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - MARCH 05: Leo Komarov #47 of the New York Islanders prepares to skate against the Ottawa Senators at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on March 05, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders defeated the Senators 5-4 in the shoot-out. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
UNIONDALE, NEW YORK - MARCH 05: Leo Komarov #47 of the New York Islanders prepares to skate against the Ottawa Senators at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum on March 05, 2019 in Uniondale, New York. The Islanders defeated the Senators 5-4 in the shoot-out. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Loe Komarov is the latest New York Islanders player to sit due to injury or illness. That’s three of the Isles started being sidelined.

Before puck drop against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, the New York Islanders were already down two men. Casey Cizikas was on the injured reserve list as of (date) and Jordan Eberle was back in New York and was day-to-day.

But just before puck drop in Columbus the Islanders placed Jordan Eberle on the injury reserve list and called up Cole Bardreau from the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

That’s a move the New York Islanders could have easily done before the road-trip started. Eberle didn’t travel with the team. So why make that move now? Well, Leo Komarov was pulled out of the lineup due to illness.

Three Down

With Casey Cizikas and now Leo Komarov out, the Islanders didn’t have a good fourth-line center to put in the lineup. So up comes 26-year-old Cole Bardreau. The undrafted center who spent five years with the Flyers AHL affiliate never played an NHL game. Tonight is his first NHL game.

To bring Bardreau in, the Islanders needed to make room on the roster which is why Eberle was placed on IR.

We already knew the Islanders were weak on the right side of their forward line. Jordan Eberle was their only legitimate offensive RW on the roster and he’s out for a period of time. Wahlstrom is a good addition to make in Eberle’s absence but it does nothing to fill the weakness.

And now the Islanders have a weakness down the middle.

Cizikas is easily the best fourth line center in the NHL right now. Any replacement just won’t bring the same level of quality. But Leo Komarov did a good job with the role he was given. Now with Komarov out it’s the next man up.

The Islanders strength was sending four lines out there against any opposition and equally distributed. With Cizikas out, and now Komarov out that is no longer the case. Which then makes the other Islanders weakness all the more obvious.

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Hopefully, with a long break coming – the Islanders don’t have a game for four days – some of these guys can get healthy and get back on the ice.

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