Islanders Place Defenseman Romanov on Indefinite Injured Reserve

The New York Islanders placed defenseman Alexander Romanov on injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 16 for an upper-body injury suffered in the Oct. 16 loss to Edmonton, and he will miss at least the next two games. The retroactive IR means he can be activated as soon as he’s healthy — possibly as early as Friday — though GM Mathieu Darche said he’s unlikely to play Thursday or Saturday and described the injury as “nothing serious” while not ruling out long-term injured reserve as a roster/cap option. The team waived forward Marc Gatcomb to open a roster spot and cap space so it can recall a seventh defenseman from AHL Bridgeport, with Isaiah George or Marshall Warren likeliest to be called up. Romanov had struggled early this season alongside Tony DeAngelo (a minus-3 rating in four games), has averaged 18:12 TOI per game with 15 hits and 12 blocked shots, and is in the first season of an eight-year, $6.25 million-per-year contract.