Anders Lee Injury Puts Opening-Night Islanders Status in Question

Captain Anders Lee will miss 1-2 weeks with an upper-body injury, the Islanders announced Wednesday after he did not practice. With opening night in just over two weeks, the injury raises the possibility that he will miss time early in the regular season.

Max Tsyplakov also missed practice, though the team described the absence as maintenance that allowed him to skate on his own. Emil Heineman took Lee’s spot on the left side of Mat Barzal in Wednesday’s practice, with Kyle MacLean and Marc Gatcomb on either side of Casey Cizikas on the fourth line, where Heineman and Tsyplakov had been.

Separately, injuries to Semyon Varlamov and Pierre Engvall have kept them out for the duration of camp. Engvall was projected to return to practice 2-3 weeks from the start of training camp, which would align with the start of the regular season. The Islanders have not announced a timetable for Varlamov, and it looks like a strong possibility that David Rittich will start the regular season as Ilya Sorokin’s backup.

With opening night scheduled for less than three weeks away, the latest injury updates add to a cautious forecast for the roster as training camp progresses.