Islanders place veteran defenseman on IR

The New York Islanders placed defenseman Ryan Pulock on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, according to a team announcement.

The nature of Pulock’s injury, beyond the fact that it is a lower-body ailment, is not immediately clear. The 29-year-old blueliner played in Thursday’s 7-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, although his 16:28 time-on-ice was quite a bit lower than normal. Pulock typically plays 23 minutes per night and can play as many as 28, as he did during a November contest against the Ottawa Senators.

Due to this IR placement, Pulock will now need to miss at least the team’s next three games. That leaves the team without one of its most important defensemen for difficult matchups against the Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs. The Islanders are already missing stalwart defensive defenseman Adam Pelech, so this loss of Pulock costs the team another reliable, minutes-eating blueliner.

Paired with young Samuel Bolduc Thursday night, Pulock occupied a crucial role inside the team’s top four at even strength and on both special teams units. Now it’s likely team seventh defenseman Grant Hutton will draw into the lineup in place of Pulock, though it’s extremely unlikely he plays the kind of role the team entrusts to Pulock. Instead, look for the team’s third pairing of recent waiver claim Mike Reilly and veteran Scott Mayfield to be leaned on more heavily by head coach Lane Lambert.

As one of the league’s lower-scoring teams, the Islanders rely on well-drilled defensive hockey and exceptional goaltending to grind out victories. That’s the formula that took the club to the playoffs last season and placed them in the Eastern Conference Finals for two consecutive years under Barry Trotz.

Employing that defense-first strategy becomes quite a bit more challenging when both Pelech and Pulock are out of the lineup, so it will be interesting to see what adjustments Lambert makes in order to give his squad the best chance to keep pace in what is a fiercely competitive Metropolitan division playoff picture.