NY Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri ruled out for 6-8 months with a torn ACL

The NY Islanders received some brutal news today, as forward Kyle Palmieri will in all likelihood miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, given a timetable of 6-8 months.

Palmieri suffered the injury in the second period of yesterday's 4-3 SO loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, after an awkward collision into the corner boards with Jamie Drysdale.

Palmieri out 6-8 months

After Palmieri struggled to get back to his feet, on his way to the bench, the veteran picked the pocket of Emil Andrae, dishing the puck off and receiving a secondary assist on an Emil Heineman goal, on what may be the grittiest assist in the NHL this season.

The injury bug has stung the Islanders over the last two weeks, as Alexander Romanov will also miss the remainder of the regular season, undergoing shoulder surgery, and JG Pageau will be out of the lineup for the next few weeks.

In addition to missing a key component of their top-6, the Islanders will also be without one of their best forwards on the top power play and penalty killing units. 

The initial thought is that Max Shabanov is the likely candidate for the top 6. At the same time, Anders Lee can slide into that net front presence on the man-advantage, and Emil Heineman will take on a full-time role on the PK until Pageau's return.

Palmieri will finish the season with 18 points (6 G, 8 A) in 25 games. 

We’ll see if the Islanders decide to call up another forward from Bridgeport, or if Mathieu Darche looks to add via trade to help bolster his lineup.