Alexander Romanov had shoulder surgery and is expected to be out 5-6 months, the New York Islanders announced Sunday.
The 25-year-old defenseman sustained the injury late in a 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 18, when he was boarded behind the net at 19:32 of the third period by Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, who was also given a game misconduct.
“First of all, he’s not happy, there’s no doubt about it,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said before their 1-0 shootout win against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday. “… We have to move on, and you don’t replace a player like him. You hope that the guys coming in will fit in, and hopefully that [Adam] Boqvist will play like he’s been playing.
“So, I mean, it’s an opportunity for [Boqvist], and he needs to take advantage of it. We’ll see what (GM Mathieu) Darche decides, but we have Marshall [Warren] that played really well for us, and we’re comfortable to have him playing if he has to.”
Romanov has one assist, 31 hits, and 31 blocked shots in 15 games this season while averaging 19:27 of ice time. He was placed on injured reserve Wednesday.
“Obviously, I never meant to do that,” Rantanen said Wednesday. “I’ve never done that my whole career. I play hard, but I never try to be dirty on purpose. I think I got clipped a little bit, and then he [fell] forward. Unfortunate moment, but I never really meant to do it. Hopefully he’s not too bad.”
Rantanen was automatically suspended one game on Sunday for receiving another game misconduct after he boarded forward Matt Coronato in the second period of a 3-2 shootout loss at the Calgary Flames on Saturday.
The Islanders also announced that Jean-Gabriel Pageau is week to week with an upper-body injury. Pageau, a center, played 15:58 in a 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. He has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 22 games this season.
New York (13-8-2), which has won seven of its past nine games, is in second place in the Metropolitan Division.
NHL.com independent correspondent Stefen Rosner contributed to this report
