Tony DeAngelo plays over 25 minutes in NY Islanders debut after Ryan Pulock's injury

Tony DeAngelo gets thrown into the first with the NY Islanders

Carolina Hurricanes v New York Islanders
Carolina Hurricanes v New York Islanders | Bruce Bennett/GettyImages

In his first game back in the NHL, Tony DeAngelo was excited to hit the ice for the NY Islanders, but couldn’t have expected to play as much as he did in last night's 3-2 OT win against the Carolina Hurricanes. 

After departing SKA St. Petersburg two weeks ago and returning stateside, DeAngelo played 25:07 in his Islanders debut. 

The 29-year-old defenseman was brought in as an offensive defenseman, expected to take on Noah Dobson’s role in quarterbacking the power play after Dobson sustained a lower-body injury and was placed on LTIR. With that, DeAngelo would need to help eat up the 24:01 of ice time Dobson has averaged this season.

Tony DeAngelo plays over 25 minutes in debut

With Ryan Pulock suffering an injury on the first shift of the game, DeAngelo was called into action more often than anticipated, logging 25:07 - second most among Islanders defensemen behind Alexander Romanov who played 26:41.

“I’m real grateful for the opportunity,” said DeAngelo. “Two weeks ago, my NHL career looked pretty bleak. I wouldn’t say I took it for granted when I was here, but to get another opportunity to be back, you can’t ask for much more. So hopefully I’ll take advantage of it.”

Originally paired with Romanov to start the game, defensive pairings were thrown into a blender after Pulock’s injury, but the power play was where DeAngelo was most effective. He played 5:12 on the man advantage, showing his capability to find shooting lanes and send the puck toward the net.

With Pulock’s status going forward unknown, DeAngelo would be thrust into a top-4 role, playing minutes that Lou Lamoriello may not have anticipated when he decided to sign the Metro Division nomad.

It was only one game, but DeAngelo was extremely effective for the Islanders in his debut and played a key role in an impressive comeback as the Islanders ride their longest winning streak of the season.

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