Islanders defenseman lands on long-term IR

The Islanders have made a pair of roster moves in advance of Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh.  The team announced that they’ve moved defenseman Ryan Pulock to LTIR and assigned goaltender Ken Appleby to AHL Bridgeport.

Pulock has been out with a lower-body injury since Dec. 8, meaning he has already missed the majority of the 10 games and 24 days that he’s required to be out for with this placement; he’d be eligible to be activated as soon as Tuesday’s game in Colorado. The fact they’re going this route suggests he should be out at least a little longer than that.

While Pulock’s placement doesn’t open up a roster spot, it does expand their LTIR pool, giving GM Lou Lamoriello more short-term flexibility to manage his roster without having to be worried about salary cap considerations.

As for Appleby, he has been back and forth from Bridgeport in recent days with Semyon Varlamov missing the last couple of games with an undisclosed injury. His demotion opens up a roster spot and if Varlamov is good to at least dress as the backup for Sunday’s game, the Islanders will likely look to bring a defenseman up from the AHL as they’ve been carrying just six in recent days.