The slumping Islanders will be without one of their veteran defenseman for at least a month.
The team announced Wednesday afternoon that Ryan Pulock will be out 4-6 weeks with a lower body injury after being held out of Tuesday night's blowout loss to the Panthers, who pounced on New York's shorthanded defense without Pulock, who signed an eight-year contract extension just last month.
Head coach Barry Trotz told reporters before Tuesday's game that Pulock would be re-evaluated in New York, and that evaluation clearly revealed an injury that will require significant time.
Pulock, 27, has spent his entire seven-year career with the Islanders, but has struggled out of the gate to begin this season. He has two assists and is a -2 on the year through 12 games, and is a +40 in his career.
Pulock had mainly been paired with Zdeno Chara on defense this season, and in Pulock's absence on Wednesday night, Chara was paired with Sebastian Aho, while Noah Dobson was added to the lineup.
New York will now be without one of its veteran leaders as it tries to turn its season around, currently sitting with a 5-6-2 record and are on a four-game losing streak, having allowed four or more goals in each of those four games.
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