The Islander defense was already in a shaky state when word came yesterday of another severe blow.
Andy Sutton will miss the next four to six weeks due to a torn hamstring – joining Brendan Witt, Bruno Gervais and Chris Campoli on the list of injured backliners as the Isles get ready to play in Washington tonight (7 p.m.; FSN; WBBR-1130 AM).
Sutton was injured in the closing seconds of Monday’s 3-2 win over the Sharks. A MRI yesterday revealed the torn hammy.
Already playing in place of Witt on the first defensive pairing with Radek Martinek, Sutton was picking up a lot the slack for the injured captain. Witt went down with a sprained knee on Feb. 12 and is expected to be out another one to two weeks.
Gervais has missed the last four games with an oblique strain, and Campoli was lost for the season in January with a shoulder sprain.
With no other options, the Islanders called up Drew Fata from AHL Bridgeport to fill their void. In 48 games with the Sound Tigers, Fata had three goals, five assists and 156 penalty minutes. He had one goal in three games for the Isles last season.
Despite the injuries, the Isles have won four straight and are one point behind Boston for the eighth seed in the East.
bcyrgalis@nypost.com