Islanders place Ryan Pulock, Marcus Hogberg on injured reserve with upper-body injuries

A couple of players on Long Island will be on the shelf for a little bit.

On Monday, the New York Islanders announced that defenseman Ryan Pulock and goaltender Marcus Hogberg have both been placed on injured reserve with upper-body injuries.

In response, the team has recalled goaltender Jakbu Skarek, who was on loan with New York’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders.

Both Pulock and Hogberg’s placement on IR is retroactive to Jan. 25, as both players were hurt during the Isles’ game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Pulock was hurt in the first period after an awkward spill behind the net. Late in the third period, Hogberg was hurt enough that he had to be taken out of the game.

That paved the way for Ilya Sorokin to come in relief, helping the Islanders pull out a 3-2 overtime win, with Brock Nelson scoring the game-winning goal. Sorokin became just the eighth goaltender in NHL history to pick up a win despite only having to make just one save.

After the game, head coach Patrick Roy admitted something had been bothering Hogberg earlier in the game, but it only got worse as he tried to fight through it.

Per the NHL’s IR rules, neither Hogberg nor Pulock will be eligible to be in the lineup until next Saturday when the Islanders visit the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Through 48 games, Pulock has scored three goals and 16 points, registering a plus/minus of +7 while averaging 21:55 of ice time. Hogberg is 2-2-0 in seven appearances this year with a 1.45 goals-against average and a .947 save percentage.

Skarek has never appeared in an NHL game in his career. In 20 games with Bridgeport this season, the Czech goaltender has a 5-11-1 record with a 3.22 GAA, a .895 SV% and one shutout.

The Islanders (21-20-7) are seventh in the Metropolitan Division, six points back of the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.