Islanders' Jean-Gabriel Pageau will be out with upper-body injury
Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau sets before a face-off against the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period of an NHL game at UBS Arena on Jan. 28. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Islanders will be without versatile third-line center Jean-Gabriel Pageau at least for the short term.
The team announced shortly before Tuesday night’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Senators at UBS Arena that Pageau, who grew up in Ottawa and played his first seven-plus NHL seasons with his hometown club, was day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Otto Koivula, called up from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport on Monday, came in as the fourth-line center and logged 6:36, including 2:47 of man-advantage time as he also played in Pageau’s spot on the second power-play unit.
It was the first NHL game this season for Koivula, a fourth-round pick in 2016. He had two assists in eight games for the Islanders last season.
Pageau, who missed his first game this season, participated in Monday’s practice and logged 12:56 in Saturday afternoon’s 4-3 overtime loss in Montreal.
But he missed Friday’s practice without explanation, though Lambert said that was unrelated to Pageau’s absence from Tuesday’s lineup.
Casey Cizikas missed Monday’s practice with a non-COVID-19 illness.
Left wing Ross Johnston and defenseman Parker Wotherspoon were the Islanders’ healthy scratches on Tuesday.
Homecoming
Franklin Square’s Shane Pinto, who made his debut for the Senators in 2020 after being selected 32nd overall in 2019, logged 14:14 with three shots in his first NHL game on Long Island. He told Newsday in January he appreciates being a role model for younger hockey players along with fellow Long Islanders such as the Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy and the Rangers’ Adam Fox.
“Growing up, a lot of it was lacrosse, baseball, football,” Pinto said. “That’s pretty normal. But as you see these kids growing up, you see McAvoy and Fox and me, too, you go, ‘All right, that’s pretty cool, this sport is pretty awesome.’”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
