The Islanders’ nightmarish goaltending season continues.
Halfway through the opening period of Monday’s game against Dallas, Evgeni Nabokov was hurt making a save and left the contest, forcing backup Kevin Poulin into action -- and Poulin allowed a goal on his first shot faced, a snapper by Stars forward Erik Cole.
Dallas led 2-0 at the end of the first period.
Should Nabokov be lost for any length of time, it’ll be a major blow for the Isles. The veteran Russian netminder has struggled with health and consistency this season but was in the midst of his best stretch of the year -- over his last five starts, Nabokov had a 23-save shutout over Detroit, stopped 23 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Devils, made 35 saves in a 5-3 win over Boston, stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 3-2 OT win over Chicago, then stopped 27 of 30 in a 3-2 loss to the ‘Canes.
It’s unclear what Nabokov hurt against the Stars, though early speculation suggests it’s a groin injury. If so, it wouldn’t come as a major surprise -- Nabokov was placed on IR with a groin issue earlier this season, missing 11 games.
UPDATE: Here’s video of the incident...
UPDATE: According to NHL.com reporter Dan Rosen, Islanders head coach Jack Capuano wasn’t sure Nabokov would be traveling with the team to Toronto tonight.