Noah Dobson (day-to-day, upper-body) will not face the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon, per Head Coach Patrick Roy.
The 24-year-old defenseman left early in Thursday's contest after logging 1:28 TOI. Dobson leads the Islanders in assists (60), ranks second on the team in points (70) and is also second in power play points (24).
Dobson played in all prior 79 games for the Isles this season. Roy said that the team will have to manage without him, the same way the group banded together after Scott Mayfield's extended absence.
"He's a big piece of our team," Roy said of Dobson on Saturday morning. "When we lost Mayfield, it gave opportunity for other guys, so we'll approach it the same way."
Roy revealed that Sebastian Aho will skate in a pair with Alexander Romanov, while Robert Bortuzzo will play with Mike Reilly. The pair of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock will stay the same.
In other lineup news, Hudson Fasching will draw into the lineup for Simon Holmstrom, per Roy. Fasching missed five games as a healthy scratch and has 11 points (4G, 11A) through 43 games this season.
