The New York Islanders suffered a blow to their blue line, as defenceman Johnny Boychuk is expected to miss three to four weeks with a lower-body injury.
Boychuk blocked a shot with his left foot/leg in the second period of the fourth and final game of the Islanders’ series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He appeared to be in significant pain, and eventually left the game and didn’t return.
The Islanders, having completed their sweep of the Penguins on Tuesday, have the advantage of rest now as they await their second round foe. New York will face the winner of Washington-Carolina, which is currently tied 2-2, and will no doubt be rooting for the series to go all the way to seven games. Should it go the distance, the Islanders will have had more than a week’s worth of rest between Game 4 of Round 1 and the start of Round 2.
Forward Cal Clutterbuck was also injured Tuesday, but the team specified his absence as a maintenance day.
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