Islanders Defenseman Alexander Romanov Leaves Loss to Rangers With Unclear Injury

New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov exited Tuesday night’s 5-2 loss to the Rangers with an apparent injury, missing the final 12:04 of the game. No single play appeared to cause the issue.

Head coach Pete DeBoer offered little clarity afterward, saying only that Romanov was “still being evaluated.”

The uncertainty is especially worrying given Romanov’s recent injury history. He played just 15 games last season after a shoulder injury required surgery, and missed nearly 20 games the season before that with other nagging problems. He had been working to find his footing again this season and was having an uneven night — finishing minus-1 — when he left the ice.

With Romanov out, Logan Stanley absorbed much of his ice time in the third period, finishing with 19:21 on the night. DeBoer singled him out afterward, calling him “one of our better defensemen tonight.”

If Romanov ends up missing time, the Islanders will need to decide quickly whether to call up a replacement from the minors. The options include Isaiah George, who entered training camp as a likely third-pair defenseman before losing that job, and top prospect Kashawn Aitcheson, who reportedly outplayed George during camp. Any such move would need to happen by Thursday, when the Islanders host the Chicago Blackhawks.

Romanov wasn’t the only Islander to leave the ice with a scare. Forward Simon Holmstrom briefly went to the locker room in the second period after a clearing attempt by the Rangers’ Sean Durzi struck him in the face, causing heavy bleeding. He returned to play.

“It might be a broken nose, but he came back and played, so he’s all right,” DeBoer said.

Tuesday’s game was DeBoer’s first Islanders-Rangers matchup since taking over as New York’s head coach, and he spoke afterward about the intensity of the crosstown rivalry.

“There’s nothing like living in a town in New York or New Jersey where the town is split 50/50 on who’s cheering for what team,” DeBoer said. “Particularly if you could get into the playoffs, get that going. I haven’t seen anything like that since I coached in Jersey. We played the Rangers in the [2012] conference final.”

DeBoer noted he hadn’t encountered a similarly charged regional rivalry while coaching in the Western Conference.