Alexander Romanov To Travel On Road Trip; How Isaiah George's Play Impacts Islanders Blue Line Configuration

EAST MEADOW, NY -- The New York Islanders didn't get great news regarding defenseman Mike Reilly on Saturday morning.

The 31-year-old, who was knocked unconscious in their win against the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 1, will be out indefinitely.

The good news is that Reilly is doing okay, but there's no timetable for his return.

There was some positive news.

Alexander Romanov, who suffered an upper-body injury in that same game, will be traveling with the team when they hit the road for a five-game trip starting on Tuesday night against the Edmonton Oilers.

With the emergence of Isaiah George, especially alongside Noah Dobson, how will the Islanders' blue line look once Romanov is cleared to return?

Islanders head coach Patrick Roy has options.

Upon Romanov's return, Ryan Pulock will definitely return to his natural right side. With all the injuries, he has been playing on the left, his off-side, which likely means that Grant Hutton is coming out of the lineup.

With there still a need for an LHD, Dennis Cholowski will stay in, most likely.

The biggest question is which of Romanov or George will line up alongside Dobson?

The Romanov-Dobson pairing played extremely well together at the start of the season. Yes, Dobson's defense has been an issue, but Romanov's ability to excel on the defensive side of the puck and jump in on the rush made the two very effective.

The Islanders have outscored their opponents 8-5 when Romanov and Dobson have been on the ice together (126:06).

But we saw a different Dobson alongside George.

"Noah played a super nice game [against the Penguins]. "He was in on the rush. He was moving his feet. That's the guy that I know, and that's the guy I want when he starts rushing the puck, that excites me.

"I love the way he played, so I thought that he and George were a pretty good fit together."

The two played 18:34 together in their 4-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

Romanov and Pulock have played a lot since No. 28 came to Long Island ahead of the 2022-23 season, so there's a definite seine of comfortability there.

However, George played with Pulock during his NHL debut at times, and the two looked comfortable together.

At 3:11, the two were not on the ice for a shot against.

OPTION 1:

Romanov-Dobson

George-Pulock

Cholowski-Mayfield

OPTION 2: 

George-Dobson

Romanov-Pulock

Cholowski-Mayfield

Having options is always a great thing for a head coach, and with George raising his game, Roy has been comfortable with different options without weakening his blue line.

"He skates well and moves well," Roy said regarding George. “I mean, to see a guy using this advantage to perform the way he has, we could not ask for a better scenario in the way that the kid is taking advantage of the opportunity.”

While we are more than a few weeks away from the Islanders' blue line being completely healthy, it's quite possible we will see these defense pairings when Adam Pelech (upper body, 4-6 weeks) and Reilly (indefinitely):

George-Dobson

Romanov-Pulock

Pelech-Mayfield

Reilly

With Pelech on their bottom pair, the Islanders' defense would be the deepest it has been in years.