The New York Islanders announced on Thursday that they have placed defenseman Alex Romanov on injured reserve, retroactive to Oct. 16.
It is being described as an upper-body injury, which the 25-year-old apparently suffered during New York’s 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers last Thursday. He had missed each of the previous two games, which head coach Patrick Roy initially described as a “day-to-day” issue.
The retroactive designation, however, could see Romanov eligible to re-join the team as early as Friday. Paired with the waiving of forward Marc Gatcomb, it gives the Islanders the open roster spot necessary to recall one more blue liner up from Bridgeport to serve as a seventh defenseman — even if just for a limited time.
Adam Boqvist, who previously held that extra role, had drawn into the starting lineup for each of the last two games.
Romanov had been overcoming a miserable start to his season. He and Tony DeAngelo were proving to be a problematic pairing that began the young campaign as the Islanders’ No. 1 unit. In his four games, he had a minus-3 rating.
