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Maybe it's the flu or something he ate or due to watching the Mets vomit up routine plays all weekend, but Islanders captain John Tavares remains ill, according to a couple of ominous Jack Capuano quotes from practice.
Capuano: Tavares still very sick, getting checked out again today. "I don't expect him here for a little bit."
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) November 2, 2015
Talked to a couple folks outside the #Isles organization who said Tavares' illness is just that -- an illness.
— Arthur Staple (@StapeNewsday) November 2, 2015
Capuano said Tavares "is not doing well" and he doesn't expect him "for a little bit." #Isles
— Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) November 2, 2015
Crygalis fleshed out the comments in an article this afternoon:
"He's not doing well, not feeling well," coach Jack Capuano said after practice. "Obviously, there is concern, right? He's going to get checked out again today, maybe get some more tests. You know as much as I know. I just know the report that I got from our doctors and trainers this morning that he's still not feeling well at all. So I don't expect him with us here for a little bit."
In other words, Tavares could be out for tomorrow night's rematch against the Devils. The Islanders play Montreal on Thursday, so exactly how long a "little bit" is remains to be seen.
Capuano isn't a doctor, and he doesn't play one on TV (and some would argue he barely plays a coach there, too), so he could just be using the same anxious, old school, doom-and-gloom talk my mother uses whenever she goes to the doctor. And if he is, it's driving me nuts (just like my mother does).
I was at Applebees on Saturday, enjoying lunch with my wife and daughter, when word came down that Tavares would miss that afternoon's game against the Devils for reasons that would, "be announced after the game."
Reading that made my hamburger go down less than smoothly. The Islanders ended up coming back to lose the game in a shootout, after which it was revealed that Tavares was simply ill. Most of us assumed he was hit with the same malady that had affected housemate Ryan Strome earlier in the week.
With back-to-backs over the weekend, it wasn't a surprise that Tavares also missed Sunday's game versus Buffalo - which the Islanders lost 2-1 at a Barclays Center packed with Sabres fans. Then today's reports have to go and make the situation sound pretty grave again.
First and foremost, the No. 1 concern is that Tavares gets healthy again from... whatever it is he's got. Not just for the Islanders but for him personally.
In the meantime, just get me a glass of hot fat. And bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia while you're out there.