Major injury alert : Emil Heineman ejected for kneeing Isaac Howard vs Oilers

Emil Heineman was handed a major and a game misconduct for kneeing Isaac Howard as the Islanders host the Oilers.

The game is live and sitting in the first intermission, so the outcome is still open. But the Islanders are already without a forward, and a 5-minute major means they had to kill a full five minutes before anything else could settle.

According to Gino Hard, Howard needed assistance getting off the ice after the hit. There's no update on his condition yet, and Edmonton hasn't said anything about whether he returns.

Heineman came into the day with 4 penalty minutes in 13 games this season, so this is a sharp turn for a player who has been useful to New York. He also owns 1 short-handed goal this year, which makes the penalty kill a place he normally helps rather than hurts.

Howard, 22, has 1 goal and 2 assists in 12 games for the Oilers. He's a first-round pick who has been working to carve out a full-time spot, and he has 1 power-play goal among his three points.

Gino Hard reported that Heineman was assessed the major and the game misconduct, and that Howard needed help to leave the ice.

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A kneeing major with an ejection is the harshest outcome the officials can hand out on the ice. Two minutes would have been a joke for a play that leaves a player needing assistance.

What the Oilers and Islanders have riding on this one

Edmonton arrives at 9-2-2, third in the NHL and first in the Pacific Division. The Oilers are a perfect 5-0-0 on the road, so the Islanders are facing a team that has not lost away from home.

New York is 7-4-2 and has won 2 straight, including a 4-3 overtime win at Minnesota on Thursday. The Islanders sit fourth in the Metropolitan Division, and they don't have much room to give away a game while shorthanded.

Edmonton has one more stop on this trip, at the Rangers on Sunday. Whether Howard is in that lineup is the question to watch, while the Islanders host Carolina on Thursday, November 5, and will find out how long this penalty follows Heineman.

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