Islanders goalie Kevin Poulin injured his left leg in warmups Tuesday night, leaving the team without a backup for its game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Poulin, a 20-year-old rookie who is subbing for injured No. 1 netminder Rick DiPietro, appeared to catch his left skate in a rut in the crease and fell awkwardly early in warmups. He seemed to be in significant pain as he turned onto his stomach, and gingerly skated off the ice. He was helped down the tunnel toward the Islanders dressing room.
Mikko Koskinen, a 6-foot-5 goalie from Finland who was brought up from Bridgeport of the AHL because of injuries to DiPietro and Nathan Lawson, got the emergency start and made his NHL debut. He is the fifth goalie to play for the Islanders this season.
Poulin wasn’t listed among the Islanders scratches on the pregame lineup sheet. During the game, the team announced that Joel Martin was recalled from Bridgeport. The 28-year-old Martin, who began the season with Odessa of the Central Hockey League, signed a two-way contract with the Islanders on Feb. 4 and has played in six games with Bridgeport.
The game didn’t begin well for the 22-year-old Koskinen as Colby Armstrong scored on Toronto’s first shot, 1:29 in. Jay Rosehill made it 2-0 just 5:02 later on the Maple Leafs’ second shot.