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Islanders Notebook: Dobson Injured, No Timetable to Return

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EAST MEADOW, NY — The New York Islanders returned for practice one day after beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-1 on Monday night. During the game, Noah Dobson took a nasty-looking fall after a hit by Justin Danforth and did not return. He sustained a lower-body injury.



Dobson did not practice today, and the team did not give a timetable for a return. Kyle Palmieri also didn’t practice today, but the team quickly deemed his absence a maintenance day, and coach Patrick Roy emphatically declared Palmieri would play on Friday.

Defense without Dobson:

Without Dobson, the defense took on a new shape, with Scott Mayfield sliding up to join Alexander Romanov in rushes. Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock stayed together as Isaiah George and Dennis Cholowski skated together. Cholowski played on his offside in the absence of Dobson.

Roy liked the physicality of a Romanov-Mayfield pairing and praised George and Cholowski, specifically saying they will skate together on Friday. Roy added the power play will directly be Cholowski’s job.

On a potential loss of Dobson, Roy said, “You don’t replace Noah. He’s one of our better defensemen. We have no timetable to see when he’s going to be back; that’s the first priority.”

Last night, Ryan Pulock discussed how the game finished without Dobson and what it does for the rest of the defense with him in the lineup: “Noah is a big part of the back end here. So anytime you lose a guy back there, you have to be smart. You have to keep your short shifts. You’re going to play a lot in the last however many minutes trying to close out a game. So I think it’s just about having the right mindset, keeping your short shift, not getting stuck out there, and just rolling.”

Goaltender Ilya Sorokin said this about Dobson’s loss: He’s a great paler for us. He defends well and has a lot of points. We want him to come back fast.”

What’s Next:

The Islanders’ next nine games will provide a massive test. They will play eight teams during that time, and seven of them are firmly entrenched in the playoffs. The only team they play that isn’t currently in a spot is the Philadelphia Flyers, who just beat the Islanders 5-3 in UBS Arena.

The Islanders get the Flyers twice, once at home on Friday and then again on Thursday, January 30.

To close out the extended home stand, the Islanders play the Carolina Hurricanes one day after hosting the Flyers. New York gets two days off before welcoming in the Colorado Avalanche.

Then, New York plays five of six on the road before the Four Nation’s Face-Off. First is the trip to Philadelphia. Then, a weekend back-to-back in Florida with the Lightning and Panthers will begin the month of February. New York comes home for a midweek game with the Vegas Golden Knights before the stretch ends with another weekend back-to-back. However, the Islanders play the Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets instead of playing in sunny Florida.

Despite going 5-2-0 in their last seven, the Islanders have their work cut out for them if they want to stay close to the playoff race and avoid what seems to be a looming sell-off at the deadline.

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