Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov will be out of action for between five and six months due to surgery on his right shoulder, the team announced on Sunday.
Romanov’s injury, 25, occurred on Tuesday in Dallas during the last minute of regulation time, when he was hit from behind by Stars forward Mikko Rantanen.
Romanov, who had to be helped off the ice, was placed on the injured list on Wednesday. So far this season, he has one assist in 15 games. Last summer he signed an eight-year, $50 million contract.
He is not happy. We have to move on. We don’t replace a player like that.
Patrick Roy, Islanders coach
El defensa de los New York Islanders, Alexander Romanov, necesitó cirugía de hombro tras este golpe de Mikko Rantanen de Dallas y estará fuera entre cinco y seis meses.Roy indicated that the team will depend on Adam Boqvist and Marshall Warren to cover Romanov’s absence.
“We hope that the players who come in fit in and that Boqvist plays as he has been doing,” Roy said about his defensive corps, which has been reinforced by the outstanding 18-year-old rookie, Matthew Schaefer.
Rantanen received a five-minute penalty for the play and a game ejection, but received no further suspension from the league for the hit on Romanov.
Rantanen was suspended for one game the previous Sunday after a hit on Calgary’s Matt Coronato during Saturday’s game.
Roy was furious after Rantanen’s hit on Romanov and yelled at the Dallas player as he headed to the locker room through a tunnel between the benches.
The Stars coach, Glen Gulutzan, defended his player because he believed that Rantanen’s skate was grazed by Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield, causing him to raise his arms for balance just before contact with Romanov.
Rantanen said he had no intention of injuring Romanov. This is his first full season with Dallas after being traded twice last season.
