Islanders issue pair of disappointing injury updates

The New York Islanders are hoping to skate into the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season. New York is dealing with some injuries as the campaign rolls along. The Islanders will be without two forwards for an extended period of time.

“Calum Ritchie is out 4-6 weeks, and Matias Maccelli 2-4 weeks because of a lower-body injury each forward sustained in the first period of a 4-1 win at Toronto on Saturday,” NHL.com reported on Tuesday.

This is tough news for New York. Both Ritchie and Maccelli have made their mark with the club so far this year.

“Maccelli has six points (two goals, four assists) in his first eight games with New York; Ritchie has one goal, one assist in eight games,” NHL.com added.

Maccelli in particular is a tough loss for the club right now. He had a five-game point streak going before getting hurt in the team’s recent contest against the Maple Leafs.

New York will look to other players to offset these losses. Mitchell Chaffee is being recalled from AHL Hamilton to help out.

“[He] just worked hard, good detail to his game, really professional,” Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer told reporters of Chaffee, per the New York Post. “What I liked best about (him) as he was disappointed when he went down, as he should have been, because he had a good camp. But the way he handled it, he went down and had a hat trick in their opener. That’s a great lesson on how to handle adversity.”

The Islanders are in action Tuesday against the Anaheim Ducks. The Islanders have nine points on the season. New York is 4-3-1 on the campaign.