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 Tuesday in Dallas during the last minute of regulation time. It was the result of a hit from behind by Mikko Rantanen, a Stars forward.
Romanov, who needed help getting off the ice, was placed on injured reserve 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.
Patrick Roy, Islanders coach
Roy also added that the team will have to move forward, as it is not easy to replace a player like Romanov.Alexander Romanov, defensa de los New York Islanders, necesitó cirugía en el hombro después de este golpe de Mikko Rantanen, de Dallas, y estará fuera entre cinco y seis meses.Roy indicated that the team will rely on Adam Boqvist and Marshall Warren to make up for Romanov’s speed.
The coach expects the players who enter to fit in and for Boqvist to play as he has been doing. The defense has been reinforced by the outstanding 18-year-old rookie, Matthew Schaefer.
Rantanen received a five-minute major penalty for roughing and a misconduct penalty in the game, but received no further suspension from the league for the hit on Romanov. Previously, on Sunday, he was suspended for one game following a hit on Calgary’s Matt Coronato during Saturday’s game.
Roy was furious about 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, which caused him to raise his arms to maintain balance just before contact with Romanov.
Rantanen stated that he had no intention of injuring Romanov. He is in his first full season with Dallas after being traded twice last season.
