Islanders forward Casey Cizikas left Tuesday night’s 5-3 win over the Flyers in the first period with a lower-body injury and did not return.
Colliding with Flyers defenseman Ivan Provarov in the first period, Cizikas appeared to be cut on the leg by Provarov’s skate and had to be helped off the ice. He wasn’t able to put any weight on his left leg as the Islanders’ medical staff ushered him straight to the locker room.
The Islanders ruled him out for the remainder of the game shortly into the second period.
The team announced Wednesday afternoon that Cizikas would be placed on IR (retroactive to Feb. 11) for three-to-four weeks with a leg laceration. Center Cole Bardreau was subsequently recalled from Bridgeport.
Cizikas, 28, is a vital piece to the Islanders’ lineup, usually centering the fourth line between Matt Martin and Leo Komarov. Cizikas missed seven games already this season due to another lower-body injury, in addition to a two-game absence in mid-January after taking a shot to the groin against the Bruins.
“Any time you see one of your teammates go down, it’s the last thing you want to see,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “Someone who is as tough as him, he doesn’t go down easily. Hopefully Casey is going to bounce back quickly here.
“I haven’t had a chance to see him. He’s such a mainstay in our lineup that we’ve got to all step up and find a way to fill his shoes.”
Having already lost Cal Clutterbuck to wrist surgery for a still undetermined period, Trotz had mentioned before how much of a difference Cizikas makes on the fourth line. But also on the penalty kill.
“The one area [that’s been affected] is the penalty killers,” Trotz said. “We’ve lost a lot of penalty killers. Everybody thinks that anybody can kill penalties. There’s an art to it. There’s either good penalty killers or bad penalty killers. Guys are learning on the fly a little bit, guys are stepping up and having to do it where they haven’t done a lot of it all year.”
Ahead of Monday’s victory in Washington, Trotz significantly shook up the Islanders’ defensive pairings.
And he liked what he saw, prompting him to keep the same pairings for Tuesday’s win. He had said before the game that the changes will likely stick depending on who the Islanders’ opponent is that night.
“Just to even things out a little bit,” Trotz said of why he made the adjustments. “I just think getting all six guys involved is going to be important for us.”
Nick Leddy and Ryan Pulock have been the top defensive pairing recently, with Devon Toews in the second pair with Scott Mayfield and then rookie Noah Dobson slotted next to veteran Boychuk in the third.
Pulock remained a mainstay in the first pairing and Toews was promoted next to him, while Leddy moved down with Boychuk on the second and then Dobson stayed in the third pair now with Mayfield.
Leo Komarov’s assist on Martin’s first-period goal was his 100th in the NHL.