The Islanders can take some encouragement from Anthony Duclair’s timeline, but they’ll still be without him until — at least — mid-November.
The team announced that Duclair will be out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury after the winger went down late in Saturday’s win over the Canadiens.
Duclair did not put weight on his right leg after getting up and appeared to be holding his groin.
After Lou Lamoriello told reporters initially that it was expected to be “long term,” four to six weeks feels like the Islanders got off relatively easy.
But that is still a long time to be without a player who completes their top line, especially when the Islanders have struggled to score lately.
The Islanders have not yet announced whether or not Duclair will be moved to long-term injured reserve (LTIR), but that would be a logical next step.
LTIR dictates that a player must miss a minimum of 24 days and 10 games, but that would be within his timeline and give the Islanders — who are currently carrying just 12 healthy forwards — more cap flexibility to call up Pierre Engvall and an additional player.