A costly turnover, indeed.
Islanders rookie defenseman Matt Donovan made a drastic mistake in the team’s 3-2 loss to the Jets on Wednesday night at the Coliseum, and after sticking in the NHL through the first 25 games of the season, Donovan was sent down to AHL Bridgeport on Thursday. The team recalled 2009 first-round pick Calvin de Haan as a replacement.
Donovan, 23, knew he had made the mistake that led to the Jets’ second goal, carrying the puck through the neutral zone and getting stripped by Bryan Little. After the game, he sat at his locker as the whole dressing room emptied, and was professional enough to answer every inquisitor that came by.
“I was on my backhand and just didn’t make the hard play,” he told The Post. “I have to make the hard play. Get it deep – or I’d take the icing. Just chip in a soft spot if I could. I just ran out of room and turned it over.”
In the 22 games he played, Donovan had one goal and four assists. As an offensive defenseman, that wasn’t quite enough to offset any mistakes he made in the name of aggression.
De Haan, on the other hand, is more of a shutdown player. In 17 games with the Sound Tigers, the former No. 12 overall pick had one goal, two assists, and a minus-5 rating. Dealing with two major shoulder injuries over the past two seasons that have limited his game action, the 22-year-old will be looking to play his second career NHL game on Friday when the Islanders play host to the Red Wings.
The team is dealing with two big-time injuries on the back end, with top-four players Lubomir Visnovsky (concussion) and Brian Strait (upper-body) both out indefinitely and not close to returning.
So now they’ll turn to de Haan over Donovan in hopes of getting some more stability.
As coach Jack Capuano said after Wednesday’s loss, the team’s fourth in a row and ninth in the past 11 contests: “It just goes to show you, one play can cost you a game.”