Islanders Lose Another Goalie

A freak injury in the warm-up saw the Islanders crease take another hit this season, as Kevin Poulin was helped off the ice before the game against the Maple Leafs.  This made way for the NHL debut of Mikko Koskinen in net for the Islanders, becoming the fifth goalie to suit up for the team this season.

Poulin suffered a knee injury in the incident and he is scheduled to have an MRI on Wednesday to check out the extent of the damage.  Even a best case scenario, a knee sprain, would still likely cost the young goaltender a couple of weeks.

In all fairness, Poulin got the starting job on Long Island mostly because of attrition this season.  With injuries and trading away a veteran, the Islanders have had little choice in what to do, especially since Evgeni Nabokov decided against playing for them after being claimed on waivers.

Going into Tuesday night, Poulin had only made 10 appearances in the Islanders cage, picking up a record of 4-2-1 along the way, which isn't too bad on the island at all.  Unfortunately, he won't have a chance to improve on those numbers right away, because of the injury, but if he can get back before the end of the year, he might just get another look.

Poulin was just about to make his first start for Wayne H. in the draft, after Wayne made Poulin the 35th overall pick in the second waiver draft last week, in hopes that Poulin would be getting the bulk of the starts for Long Island, now that both Rick DiPietro and Nathan Lawson are hurt for the long-term.  Sadly, all we can do is add another name to the list with this injury.

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