The New York Islanders’ matinee against the New Jersey Devils got tougher with the late announcement that star forward John Tavares is not available -- for some reason.
It’s not clear why he’s absent and it won’t be for a while as the Islanders only said, “reasoning to be provided postgame,” per the team’s Twitter feed.
So for now all we really have to go on is that Tavares is injured, based on the fact that the Islanders called it an “injury update.”
With Tavares gone, here’s what the Islanders’ lines look like:
#Isles Lines:
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 31, 2015
Bailey-Nielsen-Okposo
Kulemin-Grabovski-Bernier
Lee-Nelson-Strome
Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck
Prior to the announcement of Tavares’ absence Taylor Beck was recalled on an emergency basis. He isn’t playing this afternoon though.
Obviously, this could still be minor and that has to be the hope among Islanders fans. He’s the core of that team and any extended absence from him would be a big hurdle for them to overcome.
Update: Tavares’ injury isn’t believed to be serious, per Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston.