Islanders Anders Lee scratched against Chicago Blackhawks

The New York Islanders are in Chicago as they look to get their first win on the season. Things haven’t gone well for the Isles in this short season, but a date with a rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks team should be a good place to try and get win number one on the year.

And then minutes before puck drop, the Islanders announced that Anders Lee won’t be in the lineup. Kieffer Bellows was in his spot for line rushes. And every Islanders fan, and I mean every single one of them, was holding their breath.

New York Islanders Anders Lee out with illness

Turns out that Lee was out due to illness (not COVID). Meaning that he won’t be out long term. He’ll be fine. Bu the worry was that Lee had somehow re-injured the knee that kept him out of the lineup for most of the 2020-21 season and playoffs.

Thankfully that is not the case. All of those fans holding their breath collectively exhaled knowing the captain will be OK and only out, for what we believe will be short-term.

Lee has already picked up where he left off pre-injury. In two games this year he has an even-strength goal and four shots on net.

Kieffer Bellows steps into Anders Lee’s spot with Mathew Barzal and Kyle Palmieri. It’s a huge opportunity for the young man who’s stuck on the fringes of the Islanders roster to show that he can be an asset to this team.

Obviously, no one wishes for an injury or for an illness to happen, but this is exactly the type of opportunity that Bellows – a first-round pick in 2016 – needs to show Trotz that he can be trusted to be more than just a 13th or 14th forward. Perhaps he can be a regular for the Isles.