Islanders place Kulemin on IR, recall Quine from AHL

As feared after he left last night’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Edmonton Oilers, Islanders winger Nikolay Kulemin has been placed on injured reserve.

Coincidentally but also inevitably, they also recalled Alan Quine from AHL Bridgeport. Quine, who was already on the 23-man NHL roster required for his no-waivers conditioning assignment, was due to be recalled anyway. He’s yet to play in the NHL this season, after missing training camp with his injury.

But Kulemin’s IR placement opens up a roster spot for further recall, should they go that route as they head out for a two-game road trip with games in Dallas and St. Louis on Friday and Saturday. At least immediately following this morning’s kids-friendly Sound Tigers game, a loss to Lehigh Valley, it didn’t look like further callups were imminent, according to Michael Fornabaio of the Connecticut Post.

Yet it doesn’t look like just a temporary IR placement. Kulemin left the game favoring his left arm or shoulder after the hit late in the second period and didn’t return. They’ve ordered an MRI and expect news in the next 48 hours, per Brian Compton of nhl.com.

As presently constituted, Quine slots in for Kulemin and the Islanders would have no extra forwards on the road trip — though they’ve gone the “Thomas Hickey is a forward” route in previous such situations. Hickey is one of seven and more likely eight healthy defensemen on the roster, with Adam Pelech expected to return from his day-to-day status as soon as Friday, according to Doug Weight at today’s practice.

See more from Weight on Quine and Kulemin in this Sports Daily piece by Christian Arnold.

The Stars are home awaiting the Isles, having last played in a 4-1 loss to the Jets on Monday. The Blues beat the Devils in Newark last night, and will host the Coyotes Thursday night before Saturday’s meeting with the Isles.