Travis Hamonic, who suffered an upper-body injury against Dallas on Sunday, will miss his first game of the year on Tuesday when the Isles take on the Panthers in Florida.
“Losing a guy that’s played 25 minutes, that’s a huge loss for our hockey team,” Head coach Jack Capuano said, per NHL.com. “We’re going to have to make some adjustments as the game goes on, there’s no question.”
Hamonic, 23, averages 24:57 per game and leads all Isles defensemen in hits (67), sitting third in blocked shots (82). Tonight, he’ll miss the opportunity to extend New York’s impressive four-game winning streak and stretch of seven road wins -- with a victory tonight, the Isles would equal franchise record for consecutive away victories, set in 1980-81.
With a win tonight, the Isles could also pull to within five points of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.