CALGARY, Alberta — The Islanders finally took a big step toward a full recovery on Tuesday, as Alexander Romanov returned from an upper-body injury and played in his first game against the Flames in more than two weeks.
Romanov has been preparing for his return from an upper-body injury through this five-game road trip, joining the team at practice in Edmonton last week wearing a non-contact jersey, but has taken it off in recent days. .
The Islanders are still waiting on Matt Barzal, Anthony Duclair, Adam Pelech and Mike Riley, who have yet to begin skating, but Romanov, who returns to the top defensive pairing with Noah Dobson, is probably the best of the group. It's an important piece.
The Russian played 21 minutes, 04 seconds in the 2-1 loss to the Flames, recording a team-high eight hits and two shots on net.
“He looked great,” Dobson said. “Well done. It's not easy to be out for a long period of time. I thought he looked good and played well when he came back. It's good to have him back.”
As a domino effect of Romanoff's return, Isaiah George fell into the second group with Ryan Purok. Scott Mayfield was in the third pair with Dennis Cholowski, and Grant Hutton was out of the lineup as a healthy scratch.
Before missing 10 of 11 games heading into Tuesday, Romanoff played his part as the Islanders' best defenseman, averaging 21:37 on ice and continuing to improve after a strong 2023-24 season. showed.
George's arrival has changed the Islanders' blue-line equation, but getting Romanov's minute-eater back at the top of the penalty-kill unit is a relief for a team that has spent more than two weeks trying to keep its defensive corps intact. It's a sigh. Along with duct tape and glue.
Calgary's Matt Coronato, who is originally from Greenlawn, New York, said he had the Islanders game marked on his calendar because he grew up rooting for it.
“My favorite [player] It was actually Nick Leddy,” Coronato, 22, said, making everyone else in the room feel a lot older. “I was a D player when I was little, so I always loved his skating.”
Coronato has recently been playing on the Flames' top line alongside Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman, and has five goals and two assists so far this season.
“He still has a lot of offensive menace with the puck, but given where we're using him, we think he can affect things in the game. ” Flames coach Ryan Husker said. “At key moments in the game, breaking with Mikael or being on the ice, it means he's there, but it's not just, 'He's on that line, let's keep him there.' I’m there because I did a good job and got extra time on the ice.”
Roy said “everything went well” with Riley's heart surgery. The defenseman was sidelined indefinitely after a heart problem was discovered during a concussion test.
