Noah Dobson Set for Activation; Roster Fallout & Lineup Projection

The New York Islanders have played 10 straight games without their star defenseman Noah Dobson. Dobson, 25, struggled to start the year but looked much improved before his injury. Without Dobson, the Islanders brought in free agent Anthony DeAngelo. DeAngelo has recorded one goal and five points through nine games.

DeAngelo has also averaged 25 minutes on ice since debuting. Some of that is due to more injuries, including to Ryan Pulock and Scott Mayfield. Those injuries necessitated the acquisition of Scott Perunovich and the claim of Adam Boqvist.

With Dobson returning, the Islanders have eight defensemen, 14 forwards, and two goalies—24 bodies, which is one too many. When they activate Noah Dobson, the Islanders will also be over the cap. That leaves the Islanders with roster moves and lineup decisions to make.

First, The Steps to Activate Noah Dobson:

Step one will happen this afternoon. The Islanders will, if Dobson is to return tomorrow, place a player on waivers. There are three candidates for that.

First, Hudson Fasching. Fasching, 29, has played in 19 games this season. He’s recorded 0 points while going -6. Additionally, he hasn’t played since January 5 in Boston. Under head coach Patrick Roy, Fasching’s seen a deleted role as Roy likes other players in his bottom six. Add in the emergence of Marc Gatcomb, and it’s very hard to see a future for Fasching.

Waiving him makes sense, and he would go unclaimed. However, it would leave the Islanders with just 13 forwards, one of which is Matt Martin. Martin last played on January 16 against the Philadelphia Flyers, where he played just 3:48. Martin is another candidate for waivers, but waiving him seems unlikely. His leadership in the locker room is important and at his age, sending him to the AHL would not achieve anything.

That brings us to the final option. Adam Boqvist, 24, could be waived to clear room. Boqvist played well in his five games with the Islanders, showing off clear offensive prowess and flashes of why he was selected ahead of Dobson in the 2018 draft.

Waiving Boqvist ensures he is claimed by another team, something the Islanders may not want to risk. They’ve really liked his game and think there is potential for the young puck mover. However, they may be forced into the move given their roster constraints.

The next step is tomorrow afternoon, when the Islanders will place Mathew Barzal on long-term injured reserve, clearing the requisite cap space and activating Dobson.

What Will the Lineup Look Like?

The final piece of the puzzle is forming a lineup for tomorrow’s game against the New York Rangers. Adding Dobson to the mix turns the defense into the team’s biggest strength. However, unless Roy wants to go 11/7, somebody has to come out of the lineup.

Roy began to tip his hand with his pairings yesterday. The separation of Adam Pelech and Pulock shows Dobson will not be reunited with Alexander Romanov. Instead, it seems Roy loves the pairing of Romanov-DeAngelo and does not want to change that.

Roy played Pulock on his off-hand earlier in the season when Pelech, Romanov, and Mike Reilly all missed time. Having already broken up Pulock, the likeliest outcome for tomorrow is the impressive Scott Perunovich coming out of the lineup, and Noah Dobson entering. It’ll look like this:

Alexander Romanov – Anthony DeAngelo

Ryan Pulock – Noah Dobson

Adam Pelech – Scott Mayfield

Additionally, another option is subbing Dobson for DeAngelo. However, that seems incredibly unlikely. DeAngelo played for over 24 minutes yesterday and made a gorgeous pass to Kyle Palmieri, who scored as a result.

The only other true possibility is shifting to an 11/7 setup. Then, as we’ve seen Roy do, he can keep his d fluid and keep Perunovich in the mix. Pierre Engvall would likely become the healthy scratch up front.

If Casey Cizikas is suspended for his hit last night, that would be another reason to test out at least going 11/7.