The New York Islanders had a decision to make before their game Monday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
With Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Josh Bailey not meeting the team in Pittsburgh and Mat Barzal‘s status unknown after suffering an injury early against the Boston Bruins Saturday, the Islanders didn’t have enough players on the roster to fill their hole.
Here’s the play where Barzal got hurt:
Hit on Barzal that sent him to the room pic.twitter.com/OCm6alSYmM
— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) February 18, 2023
With Pageau on Injured Reserve, amongst two others, the Islanders did have an open roster spot.
READ MORE: Islanders Prospect Ruslan Iskhakov Waiting as Injuries Pile Up
The Islanders were off Sunday, as we will likely get a status report on Barzal after the Islanders morning skate on Monday, and usually, we wouldn’t be notified of a Bridgeport call-up until the skate began.
But this situation was different as the Bridgeport Islanders played today at 3 PM ET, and 24-year-old winger Arnaud Durandreau wasn’t out there for warmups.
Per the Islanders media site, he has been recalled.
The Islanders have not officially made the announcement.
Durandeau has 13 goals and 20 assists in 48 games, with seven goals and six assists over his last 17 games.
In Bridgeport’s comeback win over the Springfield Thunderbirds Saturday night, Durandeau had a goal.
DURANDEAU WITH A BEAUTY pic.twitter.com/C2HrMGCnvc
— Bridgeport Islanders (@AHLIslanders) February 19, 2023
The Islanders sixth-round pick in 2017 has yet to make his NHL debut since joining the organization in 2017.
This move likely means Barzal is not good to go or is a game-time decision for Monday.
NYI Hockey Now teased the idea of Lambert going with 11 forwards and seven defenseman against the Penguins on Friday, with Parker Wotherspoon up and the injury to Bailey. Given the back-to-back, it made that move tough for Lambert, and that’s like the reason he didn’t go that route against the Bruins.
Could, Should Islanders Run 11 Forwards, 7 Defensemen vs. Penguins?
He had that option for Monday night, but it’s clear that they wanted a full 12-man forward group against the Penguins.
