Alexander Romanov could probably give Noah Dobson some good advice by now.
This season was played on two tracks for Romanov. For one, he further establishes himself as the Islanders' top-pair defenseman and is a vital part of their future, regardless of what direction the franchise goes. He missed four games with an upper-body injury and missed one game due to illness, and returned most recently Saturday.
The temporary good news that the Islanders had their top pairing back together was, of course, undercut by Dobson's injury one game later — the Islanders missed Dobson's game Thursday with a presumed right foot injury. Although he made it clear that he would not be participating in the event, he designated it as every Thursday. No surgery required.
“Probably the worst [thing] Injuries can happen to players,” Romanov said after Thursday's practice, reflecting on his season. “You can be doing well, playing well, play 10 or 11 games at the beginning of the season, and then you get injured.The hardest thing is at the beginning of the season, after 10 games, everyone is healthy and then you get injured. Getting injured at the beginning of the team. You're building up and building chemistry between pairs and lines, and then you get hurt…and then you have to jump back and try to get on the same level as your team. So it's like a wave. I was doing great, but then I lost my way.”
The Islanders' playoff hopes are dead, and Romanoff and Scott Mayfield (who will join Dobson on the top pair) will carry a huge burden starting Friday's game against the Flyers at UBS Arena. .
Both players have had strong seasons thus far — Mayfield's resurgence after a brutal 2023-24 season is one of the lesser-discussed topics in Islanders circles — but both The last time they played together as a pair was in the 2022-23 season, and as top pairs go, they will be severely lacking in offensive power. The same goes for the Islanders' entire back end. Without Dobson, Ryan Purock is the only defenseman on the club scoring in double figures.
“The only thing that's important to us at the moment is to let our players play the way they want to play,” coach Patrick Roy said. “No one can replace Noah. Everyone has to play their own game and focus on what they have to do.”
The good news is Romanov isn't worried about the injury recurring.
He clarified Thursday that what is keeping him out this season is an unexplained fracture, not a shoulder issue that required surgery in the summer of 2023.
“It's behind me, yeah,” he said. “surely.”
Still, this will be a big test for Romanoff and Mayfield.
Although there has been a lot of criticism of Dobson on social media this season, Romanoff has been helped by Dobson as much as he has been helped by Dobson.
As a pair, they have an expected goals percentage of 53.14, and the Islanders outscore their opponents 20-17 in 5-on-5 play, according to Natural Stat Trick.
With 200:21 on the ice without Dobson, Romanov's expected goals percentage dropped to 45.89.
As for Mayfield, he has spent the majority of the season on third pair, with 48.82 percent of his faceoffs occurring in the offensive zone. He has coped well with it, but his time is becoming less and less protected.
All things considered, the Islanders are relatively well-prepared to deal with losing Dobson, as the rest of their top four have all dealt with injuries this season.
It's not going to be easy, and it doesn't help that they don't have the luxury of making a dent in the standings. They need to solidify their footing. now.
“It doesn't matter who was injured,” Romanov said. “It's a big loss for Dobby, the team, and me. But it's not over yet. We're still playing and we're going to do everything we can to win.”
