Bo Horvat was on the ice for practice at Northwell Ice Center this morning, allowing New York Islanders fans everywhere to breathe a sigh of relief.
Horvat’s status had been in question after he appeared to be in discomfort when he fell on top of his left hand and wrist late in the third period of the Islanders’ loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.
A Horvat absence of any kind would’ve been a major blow to an Islanders team already without several players due to injury. Horvat is riding a career-high 10-game point streak after scoring his 12th goal of the season on Saturday. The Islanders’ first line center is third on the team with 30 points on his record.
While Horvat was at practice, both Kyle Palmieri (maintenance) and Oliver Wahlstrom (illness) were noticeably missing.
Palmieri, who has struggled with injuries over the last couple of seasons, has yet to miss a game this season. Islanders head coach Lane Lambert said he expects the forward to play tomorrow night against the Edmonton Oilers.
Matt Martin took Palmieri’s place in line rushes alongside Brock Nelson and Pierre Engvall as he continues to participate in practice while still on injured reserve.
Martin hasn’t played since Nov. 15, serving two stints on the injured reserve list with an upper-body injury.
Four Islanders, including Martin, are currently on injured reserve.
Defensemen Ryan Pulock (lower body) and Scott Mayfield (upper body) have both missed the last handful of games and are yet to resume skating.
Fellow blue liner Adam Pelech has been out since Nov. 25 with an upper-body injury and resumed skating for the first time last week.
Pelech is eligible to come off long-term injured reserve starting tomorrow against Edmonton. However, Lambert says he expects him to remain out of the lineup without a clear timeline for his return.
Practice Lines:
Lee-Horvat-Barzal
Engvall-Nelson-Martin
Holmstrom-Pageau-Gauthier
Fasching-Cizikas-Clutterbuck
Romanov-Dobson
Bolduc-Bortuzzo
Reilly-Aho
Hutton
Sorokin
Varlamov
Next Game:
The Islanders (14-8-8) begin a back-to-back set when they welcome the Edmonton Oilers to UBS Arena on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. and then head to Washington, D.C., for a clash with the Capitals on Wednesday. Their final game before Christmas break will be Saturday at the Carolina Hurricanes.
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