The New York Islanders announced Saturday that veteran forward Kyle Palmieri suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during Friday’s 4-3 shootout loss to Philadelphia and will be sidelined six to eight months.
The 34-year-old winger was injured in the second period after getting tangled along the boards with Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale. Remarkably, Palmieri stayed in the play, stole the puck from Emil Andrae while clearly in pain, and set up Jonathan Drouin for the assist that led to Emil Heineman’s goal before limping to the locker room with help from trainers.
“That was pure guts,” captain Anders Lee said afterward. “Kyle is one of the toughest guys I’ve ever played with. It takes a lot to slow him down, but to still make that kind of play while hurting that bad shows how strong he is.”
Palmieri, who had played 223 straight games, is tied for second on the Islanders with 18 points (6 goals, 12 assists) in 25 contests this season. The New York native is in the first year of a two-year, $9.5 million extension signed in May and has 276 goals and 545 points in 925 career NHL games with Anaheim, New Jersey, and the Islanders.
