Sebastian Aho activated, but Scott Mayfield sidelined for Islanders
Sebastian Aho of the Islanders skates with the puck during a game against the Capitals at UBS Arena on Nov. 11. Credit: Jim McIsaac
It was good news/bad news for the Islanders’ defense corps against the Ducks on Wednesday night at UBS Arena.
Sebastian Aho was activated off injured reserve after missing eight games with an upper-body issue and logged 18:51 with two shots in Wednesday night’s 4-3 win as he was paired with Mike Reilly.
But the Islanders still only had three of the six defensemen they started the season with as Scott Mayfield was out with an upper-body injury and listed as day to day.
The left-shooting Aho moved to his off-side to work with the left-shooting Reilly.
“It’s never fun to be on the sidelines but I feel great now,” Aho said. “It’s been in the works the last couple of days and we’ve been monitoring it pretty close and it felt good now and we decided to try it out.”
“I thought he was very good,” coach Lane Lambert said. “I thought that pair was very good.”
Defenseman Grant Hutton was recalled from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport and was a healthy scratch.
Welcome back
Ex-Islander enforcer Ross Johnston was back at UBS Arena for the first time for a game since being waived at the end of training camp and being claimed by the Ducks. He received a nice ovation after a tribute video was shown during a first-period stoppage highlighting his time on Long Island.
“I don’t know if I expected it or not but I don’t think you can really prep for that,” Johnston said. “So, it probably hit me a little deeper than I thought it would.”
Isles files
Bo Horvat’s power-play assist extended his point streak to eight games, one shy of matching his career high . . . Defenseman Noah Dobson extended his point streak to five games and Mathew Barzal pushed his to four games . . . The Islanders have won five straight against the Ducks.
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.
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