Islanders Place Top Defender on IR

The New York Islanders will have to make due without one of their top defensemen. The team announced that veteran blue liner Ryan Pulock, along with goalie Marcus Hogberg, were both placed on Injured Reserve with upper-body injuries.

The Islanders lost Pulock during the team's most recent game. He played a few minutes in the first period before leaving the contest and did not return. Before the injury, he played in 48 games for the Isles and was an anchor on their blue line. He has three goals and 13 assists for 16 points while averaging 21:55 minutes of ice-time per game.

The absence of Pulock makes it the third defensemen to go down with an injury. Noah Dobson recently was injured and is currently listed as week-to-week. Veteran puck-mover Mike Reilly has been out since November as well.

Pulock has been a staple with the Islanders organization since 2013, when the team selected with the 15th overall pick. He made his NHL debut during the 2015-2016 season, playing in 15 games and then played another game the following year while spending the majority of his time in the AHL.

His first full season came during the 2017-2018 season, when he bursted on the scene with 10 goals and 22 assists in 68 games. In the years since, he's racked up five seasons with 21 points or more and three straight campaigns of 30+ points between 2017 and 2020.

The organization wasted no time finding a replacement for their injured players. The team went out and acquired Scott Perunovich from the St. Louis Blues. The addition of the 26-year-old gives the team another NHL capable defender who can hopefully hold down the fort while their injured veterans recover. The team also recalled goalie Jakub Skarek from the AHL to back-up starter Ilya Sorokin.

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