Calum Ritchie will miss 4-6 weeks and Matias Maccelli 1-2 weeks after both suffered lower-body injuries on Saturday night in Toronto, the Islanders announced.
That news came after the Islanders called up Mitchell Chaffee on an emergency basis, clearing a roster spot by moving Alexander Romanov (torn ACL) to injured reserve.
As of now, the Islanders have just 12 healthy forwards on their roster, so it remains to be seen whether they’ll look to add an extra now that there’s clarity on Ritchie and Maccelli.
Chaffee and Kyle MacLean — who has been the extra forward all year — practiced on the fourth line Monday. Ondrej Palat moved up to the third line, Emil Heineman moved up to the second line and Kyle Palmieri moved back to the first line, having been dropped to the fourth against the Leafs.
On top of that, coach Pete DeBoer said that Mat Barzal’s return-to-play program would not be sped up on account of other injuries, adding that there is still no timetable for Barzal to return to practicing with the team.
While no one has used the word “setback” in relation to Barzal, a timeline that was couched in optimism throughout training camp has now become shrouded in mystery. After traveling with the team on opening night, Barzal did not do so on the trip to Ottawa and Toronto, another sign that he’s not close.