Islanders host Blackhawks without Romanov, Teravainen and Bedard
New York hosts Chicago at UBS Arena on Thursday night, with injuries hitting both rosters and two Djurgårdens teammates facing off in the NHL for the first time.
The Islanders and Blackhawks meet at UBS Arena on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET, the first of two games between them this season, and both teams are dealing with injuries.
New York lost defenceman Alexander Romanov to a torn ACL in his right knee in the third period of Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Rangers. The 26-year-old will have surgery and is expected to miss six to eight months. Scott Mayfield is expected to make his season debut on the third pair alongside Tony DeAngelo. In that loss, Bo Horvat and Cal Ritchie scored, Brayden Schenn had two assists, and Semyon Varlamov made 19 saves in his first regular season game since Nov. 29, 2024.
Chicago got its first win of the season Tuesday, beating St. Louis 4-2 behind a goal and an assist each from Anton Frondell and Frank Nazar. But forward Teuvo Teravainen left that game in the second period with a lower-body injury, and head coach Jeff Blashill said he will not travel for this one. The Blackhawks are also still without Connor Bedard, who had shoulder surgery in July.
There is a personal subplot. Frondell and Islanders forward Victor Eklund came up together in the Djurgårdens organization, from U16 through the SHL in 2025-26, and won the 2026 World Junior Championship with Sweden. This will be their first NHL game as opponents. Frondell leads Chicago with four points (one goal, three assists) in four games. Eklund has two points (one goal, one assist) in three games for New York.
The teams split last season's series, and both meetings were one-goal games, including a 3-2 shootout win for the Islanders.
