Islanders Wahlstrom ‘Out Indefinitely’, Holmstrom Placed on IR

On Thursday, the New York Islanders did have some positive news on the injury front.

When the New York Islanders hit the road for a four-game road trip starting with a game in Seattle against the Kraken on Jan. 1, forwards Cal Clutterbuck (IR) and Kyle Palmieri (IR) will travel, along with netminder Semyon Varlamov (IR).

We were told that Simon Holmstrom, Oliver Wahlstrom, and Adam Pelech (IR) would not make the trip.

However, on Friday morning, we were given updates on the status of Holmstrom and Wahlstrom.

The Islanders announced that Simon Holmstrom was day-to-day but had been placed on IR (retro 12/23). Oliver Wahlstrom is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury and has also been placed on IR (retro 12/27).

This announcement brings the Islanders Injured Reserve list up to six players.

The positive is that Holmstrom is day-to-day, as his knee injury could have been severe.

Holmstrom’s injury pic.twitter.com/GOg4SZs8sq

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) December 24, 2022

But the major concern is the “out indefinitely” part for Wahlstrom.

Classified as a lower-body injury, a lot went wrong on his first shift against the Pittsburgh Penguins as he laid a huge hit on defenseman Chad Ruhwedel before being retaliated against by P.O. Joseph.

Islanders Lose Oliver Wahlstrom to Cross-Check in 1st Period

In Wahlstrom’s absence, the Islanders have used Hudson Fasching and Casey Cizikas on Mat Barzal’s wing, but neither of them are long-term solutions.

With how many players are injured, the Islandes are running out of NHL-ready players in Bridgeport, so the need for a few players to return to the lineup is critical.