Ryan Pulock Exits With Upper-Body Injury Just in Time for the Oilers

The New York Islanders just cannot have nice things. Right in the middle of a tight Friday night tilt against the Minnesota Wild, top-four defenseman Ryan Pulock decided to head down the tunnel with an upper-body injury and did not come back.

Losing a guy who eats heavy minutes every single night is never ideal, but doing it on the front end of a back-to-back is just cruel scheduling. The Islanders are staring down a Halloween matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, and trying to slow down that offense minus a top defenseman is like trying to stop a freight train with a screen door.

"Daily Faceoff reported Pulock's exit due to an upper-body injury."

Daily Faceoff broke the news that Pulock was officially done for the night in Minnesota. For a player who routinely logs north of 21 minutes a game and anchors the right side of the blue line, his sudden absence leaves a massive crater in the New York defensive rotation.

This is becoming a frustratingly familiar script for Pulock, who has battled through a laundry list of upper and lower-body issues over the last two seasons. If you are holding a New York Islanders ticket or looking at the goal total for tomorrow night, you might want to factor in a tired defensive core playing short-handed against one of the fastest teams in the league.

We will likely get a generic day-to-day update from head coach Patrick Roy by tomorrow morning, because hockey teams treat medical updates like classified state secrets. Until then, expect the Islanders to scramble their pairings and brace for a very long night against Edmonton.