Heineman Ejected, Suspension Pending, and the Forward Depth Thins Again

Emil Heineman was thrown out of Saturday's game against Edmonton after a knee-on-knee hit that injured Oilers wing Isaac Howard. A suspension hearing appears likely — the Islanders had a case that the play wasn't called on the ice, but the hit itself was the kind the league acts on.

The timing is rough. This team has been cycling through its forward group all month. Calum Ritchie and Matias Maccelli both went down earlier, Mitchell Chaffee got recalled from Hamilton to help patch things, and the roster was already down to a thin margin before Saturday. Heineman was the second winger on the left side. If he misses time, that cushion gets smaller.

The depth chart at forward doesn't have much give right now. The right wing situation behind Simon Holmstrom is essentially empty — Daniil Prokhorov and Matt Luff are listed there but haven't produced meaningful minutes. Center is a little steadier with Horvat, Schenn, and Palmieri, but the wings around them are where the roster gets fragile fast. My read is that if the suspension runs more than a game or two, Pete DeBoer is going to be improvising his lines in ways that don't suit anyone.

No word yet on length. The league will take a look this week.