Right-wingers Cal Clutterbuck and Oliver Wahlstrom will make their season debuts for the New York Islanders on Saturday night against the Anaheim Ducks after each missed out on opening night Thursday.
Per multiple reports, Kieffer Bellows and Nikita Soshnikov — both of whom were on the opening-night roster in place of Wahlstrom and Clutterbuck — remained on the ice well after morning skate concluded to suggest that they will not be in the lineup against the Ducks.
To make room for Clutterbuck, defenseman Sebastian Aho was placed on injured reserve retroactive Oct. 8.
Clutterbuck was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 26 as he continued recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Despite the announcement and designation just a few days before the start of the regular season, general manager Lou Lamoriello divulged that his status for a return was “day-to-day.”
The 34-year-old will begin his 16th NHL season — his 10th with the Islanders — where he will slot into his familiar role alongside Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin on the team’s identity line.
Soshnikov, who the Islanders acquired in September, played in Clutterbuck’s spot during Thursday night’s season-opening 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers.
Wahlstrom has also worked his way back from an upper-body injury that limited him throughout the latter stages of training camp and ultimately gave Bellows the upper edge for the third-line right-wing spot heading into opening night.
It will begin a vital campaign for the 22-year-old, who will be looked upon to take a big step forward in his development as a legitimate scoring option in New York. He posted 13 goals in 73 games last season — a number that will likely expand given his lethal wrist shot and his likely inclusion on the power play.
