The last thing the Islanders needed tonight was to lose the services of another blueliner.
But that’s exactly what happened.
Tonight’s victory over the Bolts was clouded by news that Calvin de Haan suffered an injury after blocking Nikita Kucherov’s first-period shot. De Haan tried to return for the second period but, eventually, the Isles ruled him out -- and following the game, the tone didn’t sound great with regards to de Haan’s status:
Capuano not optimistic about Calvin de Haan. He's at least not going to Washington. #Isles
— Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) April 5, 2016
No official update on deHaan. 'He didn't return, so.. Not a good sign for now'. - Capuano #isles
— Andy Graziano (@AndyGraz_19) April 5, 2016
The Isles, of course, are already without the services of d-man Travis Hamonic, who’s out for the remainder of the regular season with a knee injury.
Its unclear when -- or, if -- Hamonic will return, which is especially troubling.
Hamonic, a steadying presence on the blueline, missed all of last year’s opening-round playoff loss to the Caps with a knee injury (grade-3 MCL tear). Without him, the defense was thinned out and the Isles ultimately bowed out in seven games.
The 25-year-old, who has been in the news quite a bit this season because of his earlier trade request, was averaging a career-high 24:04 TOI per night and tied a career-best in goals, with five.
As for de Haan, he doesn’t play as large a role as Hamonic, but remains vital to the Isles. The 24-year-old averages just under 21 minutes a night and leads the team in blocked shots this year, with 189.
Related: Pelech (vascular) may be back in time for the playoffs, though