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NHL Today: More Islanders Injuries; Pacioretty Debuts For Caps

Originally posted on NYI Hockey Now
By Andrew Fantucchio | Last updated 1/4/24

Good morning, my name is Andrew Fantucchio. It’s Thursday, January 4, and here’s what’s happening around the NHL today.

Islanders News:

More Injuries: The line to get into the Islanders’ training room is out the door and around the corner at this point. The team placed recently acquired defenseman Robert Bortuzzo on injured reserve Wednesday afternoon with a lower-body injury that he suffered in their overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche Tuesday night.

Bortuzzo wasn’t the only Islanders casualty in Colorado as goalie Semyon Varlamov left the game at the 14:52 mark of the first period and did not return. Varlamov hasn’t been placed on injured reserve, and the extent of his injury isn’t known. However, the Islanders recalled goalie Ken Appleby on an emergency loan from AHL Bridgeport yesterday.

This is Varlamov’s second injury scare in the last week.

Takeaways vs. Avalanche: As for the game against the Avs itself, the Islanders put together a solid effort but eventually got run over, blowing a two-goal lead and eventually losing in overtime. Here are the key takeaways.

Schedule Not In Their Favor: The game in Colorado was tough enough on its own, and the schedule won’t get any friendlier for the Islanders over the next few weeks. Their standing in the Metro Division could be at serious risk.

Zucker Suspended:

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety has suspended Arizona Coyotes forward Jason Zucker for three games for boarding Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins.

Jason Zucker has been suspended for three games for boarding Florida’s Nick Cousins, per @NHLPlayerSafety pic.twitter.com/3IIEC5LHoT

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 4, 2024

Zucker’s suspension begins tonight as he’ll miss the Coyotes’ game versus the Islanders.

Pacioretty Makes D.C. Debut:

Nearly a year after tearing his Achilles tendon for the second time, Max Pacioretty debuted for the Washington Capitals last night.

Although, his performance versus the New Jersey Devils wasn’t particularly noteworthy, and he’d be the first to say that.

“It was a lot of emotions,” Pacioretty told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. “Obviously, I haven’t played. I’ve played five games in two years almost, so yeah, a lot of emotions. But at the end of the day, it probably couldn’t get any worse than it did tonight for me.”

In 11:47 of ice time, Pacioretty took a penalty and failed to register a shot on goal as a -1 in a 6-3 Caps loss.

Washington faces the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.