Islanders Veteran Forward to Miss Time

The New York Islanders will be without one of their key checking forwards for a while, as Casey Cizikas will be out week to week. The veteran forward suffered a lower body injury against the Vancouver Canucks and was limited to only just under four minutes of ice time during the contest.

This is certainly tough news for the Islanders, as Cizikas is a very important part of the Islanders' fourth line. With that, his defensive play will be missed, as he is one of their strongest penalty killers. However, the Islanders will now be forced to adjust without the veteran forward in their lineup for a decent amount of time.

The Islanders have already made some intriguing changes to their lineup with Cizikas sidelined. Based on the team's latest practice, Jean-Gabriel Pageau is expected to take over the fourth-line center spot with Cizikas out, while Mat Barzal will be dropped to Pageau's original spot as the club's third-line center.

Cizikas, 32, has appeared in 39 games during this season with the Islanders, where he has five goals to go along with 11 points and a minus-5 rating.

We will now need to wait and see how well the Islanders perform without Cizikas in the lineup. He's a very important part of their group, and with the Islanders fighting in the playoff race, losing him is less than ideal.

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