- Calum Ritchie and Matias Maccelli both left the Islanders’ 4-1 win in Toronto with lower-body injuries
- Coach Peter DeBoer had no update on either forward after the game
- Read below for the injury video and what the Islanders said
The Islanders beat the Maple Leafs 4-1 on Saturday and may have lost two forwards in the process.
Calum Ritchie and Matias Maccelli each left with a lower-body injury, and the team ruled out both for the rest of the game. Coach Peter DeBoer had no further update afterward, according to NHL.com’s game recap.
Ritchie went first, after a single shift. He took a check along the boards from Leafs defenseman Nick Blankenburg and appeared to absorb the force on his left leg. Watch the hit:
Maccelli followed when Leafs defenseman Darren Raddysh tripped him and he fell awkwardly on his left knee. He put minimal weight on the leg as two teammates helped him off the ice. Take a look at the moment he went down:
The Islanders confirmed the news in their own injury update:
Ritchie, 21, had a goal and an assist through seven games after putting up 30 points in 65 last season. Maccelli, 26, signed a one-year, $2.25 million deal this summer and came in with six points in seven games.
New York pushed through anyway. Captain Bo Horvat talked about winning with two forwards down early.
“That wasn’t easy, especially against a team like that. A lot of high-end talent, a lot of offense, and for guys to step up the way they did tonight with two guys going down early, it shows a lot about our group. Everybody stepped up in a different way tonight.”
Simon Holmstrom scored twice, Horvat added a goal and an assist, and Ilya Sorokin made 28 saves for the Islanders (4-3-1). They already dealt with a Mathew Barzal injury in training camp, so another round of absences isn’t what DeBoer wanted.
The Islanders open a two-game homestand against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.
