While the Islanders wait for definitive word regarding Kyle Palmieri’s injury status, there are two potential consequences hanging in the balance if Palmieri, as coach Patrick Roy indicated postgame, misses serious time.
First, in the short term, Max Shabanov is about to become a much more important piece of the puzzle, and the best game of his young NHL career came just in time on Friday to make the Islanders think the Russian can handle it.
Shabanov, who previously had not skated more than 14:31 in a game, saw 22:19 of ice and had a case as the Islanders’ best forward in the 4-3 shootout loss to the Flyers on Friday. Not only did he jump onto the second line to replace Palmieri, he also came onto the top power play unit in place of Jonathan Drouin and picked up an assist as the Islanders broke an 0-for-29 streak at five-on-four.
“He was outstanding,” Roy said. “He was. I thought that he brought some energy to the team. The way that he moves on the ice [is] very shifty. So it was nice to see him play that way. I thought from the moment I put him with Bo [Horvat] and [Emil] Heineman, I thought it gave that line some energy.”