Islanders’ bad week gets worse with Ryan Pulock injury

Ryan Pulock will miss four to six weeks with a lower-body injury, the Islanders announced Wednesday afternoon.

It’s the latest blow in what’s been a bad week all around for the Islanders — consecutive blowout road losses to the Lightning and Panthers, Josh Bailey being in COVID-19 protocol and the team dropping below .500 as it gets ready to open a new arena on Saturday. Pulock was out of Tuesday’s loss at the Panthers, but the team didn’t announce the timeline until he was evaluated in New York on Wednesday.

Without Pulock against Florida, the Islanders played Sebastian Aho next to Zdeno Chara. That pair was on the ice for two of Florida’s six goals. Whether Barry Trotz keeps that duo intact — Aho sat the first 11 games of the season before dressing against Tampa Bay on Monday — remains to be seen.

The Islanders’ defense struggled even before Pulock was injured. The Isles have given up at least four goals in each of their last four games, all losses, and given up double-digit high-danger chance in five of their last six.

Pulock, who signed an eight-year extension through 2030 during the offseason, had been playing next to Chara. The pair was struggling, mostly due to the 44-year old Chara. Pulock has two points on the season, both assists.

Missing four to six weeks puts Pulock out until at least mid-December, possibly until the New Year. That equates to at least 14 games as the Islanders enter their first homestand of the season needing to turn things around.

“It’s turned into a little bit of a long nightmare the last while here,” coach Barry Trotz said after Tuesday night’s 6-1 loss. “We’ll open that arena, hopefully it’ll give us some new energy, a new focus. Be honest, it hasn’t been easy. We’ve got to play better.”

Pulock and Adam Pelech have been the most dependable defensemen in a lineup that’s had issues up and down. Chara and Andy Greene are 44 and 39, respectively. Noah Dobson was benched against Tampa Bay on Monday and his inexperience has shown at inopportune times. Aho, in two games, has made multiple errors leading directly to goals. Scott Mayfield took a match penalty on Tuesday after knee-to-knee contact on Aleksander Barkov.

The Islanders could call up a defenseman — they’ve yet to announce a corresponding move if Pulock is put on long term injured reserve; Robin Salo or Thomas Hickey would be the two obvious choices from AHL Bridgeport. They also have cap space corresponding to the Johnny Boychuk deal, though it’s early in the calendar to make a trade.

It does seem clear right now though: This isn’t working. And things just got much worse.