Isles Twitter went into a frenzy this morning when it was announced that Mat Barzal was not at practice today. Head coach Doug Weight, following practice, said that Barzal had a maintenance day. Isles fans can now cancel the proposed rioting in Elmont for later tonight.
Now the bad news, Scott Mayfield is out at least four weeks with a lower-body injury. The defenseman blocked a shot from P.K. Subban during the first period of Monday's OT loss to the Predators. He was placed on injured reserve.
Mayfield is now the third defensemen, not counting Devon Toews, who is out for the year in Bridgeport, to miss significant time. One of those defensemen, Johnny Boychuk, practiced again this morning but is unlikely to go tomorrow in Buffalo.
The Islanders will likely head to Buffalo with just six healthy defensemen, meaning we will get a healthy dose of Dennis Seidenberg until Boychuk returns.