And now the Islanders will maintain their breath, hoping there is no listening to and subsequent suspension for Emil Heineman following his knee-on-knee hit to Isaac Howard that got him kicked out of Saturday’s match just 2:22 into the proceedings.
Though the Islanders did have a honest gripe that the hit was not initially whistled on the ice, the penalty itself was textbook. It was the second time in as many video games that the Islanders lost a player in the opening minutes after Ryan Pulock exited Thursday’s win in Minnesota with damage, but this time, the Islanders never discovered an offensive rhythm in a 4-0 defeat to the Oilers at UBS Arena.
“I was surprised it was upheld as a major, yeah,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “But again, I haven’t looked at it that closely.”
Emil Heineman (51) of the New York Islanders handles the puck against the Dallas Stars on Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Dallas. NHLI via Getty Images
Heineman didn’t communicate in the dressing room postgame — the Islanders, and most other groups, typically don’t have gamers communicate after they get tossed from video games — and his teammates principally said variations of what DeBoer did.
“We haven’t had a chance to really see the hit,” Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “Obviously we hope the other guy’s all right. I know there’s no intention behind that. Heiny’s someone that plays hard and he’s always clean. To start like that, it’s obviously hard to create some momentum, but I thought we did a good job killing [the major penalty].”
The good news is that Howard, who left the sport and did not return, might be all proper, per Oilers coach Mike Babcock.
“We don’t think, Howard, it’s as serious as it looked,” Babcock said. “We’re hoping for a real good kind of recovery day for him tomorrow, and if he doesn’t [feel better], then we’ll get on with the medical part of looking into it. But they think it’s favorable.”
The dangerous news for the Islanders is that in addition to dropping Heineman for basically all of Saturday’s sport, there is not an apparent substitute should he be suspended for Thursday’s match against Carolina.
Emil Heineman (51) of the New York Islanders handles the puck against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. NHLI via Getty Images
They are carrying just 12 wholesome forwards on their roster, and the group in AHL Hamilton is practically as battered as the one in the NHL. Liam Foudy could be in line for a spot call-up, but none of the ahead prospects — Quinn Finley, Cole Eiserman, Daniil Prokhorov — are believed to be prepared.
Pulock (higher physique) was seeing docs Saturday to assess the damage sustained Thursday evening in Minnesota.
Otherwise, the Islanders’ accidents are established order, with Matias Maccelli (decrease physique) skating, Calum Ritchie (decrease physique) yet to start skating and Mathew Barzal (left kneecap irritation) still skating, but with out any timeline.
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