As the Islanders try to get back into the playoff race, they will be without Cal Clutterbuck — again.
Clutterbuck has been battling a lower-body injury that cost him three games last month before returning for three and then missing the win over Washington last week. And after Clutterbuck came back in Detroit in Friday night’s loss, he suffered another injury.
Asked if the latest lower body injury was the same one Clutterbuck has been dealing with, interim head coach Doug Weight said, “Vague answer: relatively. It’s the same area, but it’s not the exact same [injury].”
Regardless, Clutterbuck’s absence forced Shane Prince back into the lineup against Carolina in Saturday night’s 5-4 overtime loss at Barclays Center.
“He felt so good Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday,” Weight said. “He was kind of begging me to play Tuesday. But the last thing we want is this lengthening out to a month or six weeks. We’ll try to nip it in the bud here for the next little while and see what happens.”
Considering the importance of basically all the Isles games at this point, thanks to the dreadful start to the season that they are still trying to make up for, the Isles can hardly afford to be without one of their regulars for long.
Saturday was “You Can Play Night” at Barclays Center, part of the league’s campaign to promote diversity and inclusion.
The Isles held a pregame ceremony to commemorate Jason Chimera playing his 1,000th career game Friday night in Detroit.
Weight said he has embraced analytics as a head coach, to an extent.
“I read them a lot,” Weight said. “I’m certainly into parts of it. I read all of it. I definitely believe in some of the stuff. I don’t make a lot of decisions during the game [based on] it.”
One of the reasons for the Isles’ improved results has been Andrew Ladd, who may be beginning to put his early-season struggles behind him. The free-agent signing has looked like a bust for much of his first year with the Isles, but he entered Saturday with three goals and an assist during a three-game point streak. Ladd did not have a point Saturday.
Since Jan. 13, John Tavares leads the league with nine goals and 16 points.
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