Defenseman Noah Dobson (lower body) and forward Kyle Palmieri (maintenance) were absent from Tuesday's practice at Northwell Health Ice Center.
Dobson left Monday's 3-1 win over Columbus early in the third period and did not return. The defenseman leads all Isles blueliners with 24 points (6G, 18A) in 46 games this season and is riding a three-game point streak. There's no timetable on Dobson's return as of Tuesday morning.
"You don't replace Noah, he's one of our better defensemen," Head Coach Patrick Roy said. "But we played [Alexander] Romanov with Scott [Mayfield], and they played really well. And [Dennis] Cholowski and [Isaiah] George will play together. We have plenty of confidence in these guys, and we're comfortable with them. This morning, Cholowski looked very good on the power play, so that will be his responsibility."
Roy said he liked the physical element that the Romanov-Mayfield pairing would bring if they wind up playing together.
Ryan Pulock said the Islanders will continue to adopt their next man up mentality if Dobson is to miss time.
"If he does miss some time, then you need other guys to step up," Pulock said. Some guys are going to be playing a little more minutes than normal, or in a little bit of different situations. We've kind of dealt with it all year with different guys missing time, so I think we're confident in guys that can fill in. And I think we all just have to find another level in our game to try to fill those shoes."
Palmieri took a maintenance day on Tuesday, but Roy said he expects Palmieri to be in the lineup on Friday against Philadelphia. The winger has 29 points (12G, 17A) in 46 games this season.
Hudson Fasching skated with the group for the second consecutive day in a non-contact jersey.