Heading into this season, Dobson was a shoo-in for an eight-year deal at a minimum of $8 million annually. The salary cap going up exponentially doesn't help the Islanders' case in saving money on Dobson's next deal despite his play.

The Islanders are playing their best hockey of the season, but they are suddenly facing as bad an injury crisis as they’ve had in a season filled with them. As soon as they brought Tony DeAngelo in to help fill the hole left by Noah Dobson’s right leg injury,

Dobson suffered an injury to his right leg when it bent awkwardly after a check by Columbus’ Cole Sillinger 1:16 into the third period of Monday night’s 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets at UBS Arena. He left the ice and did not return.

Ryan Pulock left Saturday's game early and is dealing with a lower-body injury, and goalie Marcus Hogberg may also potentially be hurt.

Ryan Pulock and Marcus Hogberg were both placed on IR retroactive to Jan. 25 with upper-body injuries, Jakub Skarek recalled

The New York Islanders will have to make due without one of their top defensemen. The team announced that veteran blue liner Ryan Pulock, along with goalie Marc

Noah Dobson had just starting heating up for the Islanders, but the defenseman is out indefinitely after suffering a lower-body injury.

Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock also scored, Marcus Hogberg made 18 saves and the Islanders snapped a two-game skid. Barclay Goodrow scored for San Jose and Alexandar Georgiev finished with 27 saves as the Sharks lost for the fifth time in six games (1-5-0).

It took mere seconds into his debut with the Islanders for the importance of having DeAngelo on the right side of the blue line to become all the more important, when Ryan Pulock went down and later joined Noah Dobson on injured reserve .

With Noah Dobson expected to miss an extended period of time, Ryan Pulock is the most likely candidate to be the Islanders' new power play quarterback.

Romanov scored a goal on five shots, added six hits and blocked four shots in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Avalanche. Romanov is in position to play a large role while Noah Dobson (lower body) and Ryan Pulock (upper body) are out.