Pat Pickens
Ryan Pulock could not will his injuries away enough to help the New York Islanders reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Pulock explained his injury-marred 2025-26 campaign and why an array of ailments hampered him down the stretch, even though he still played in their final nine games. He took a regular shift as the Isles lost seven of their final eight games to fall out of a playoff berth.
The 31-year-old defenseman played 76 games and finished with three goals and 27 points. He finished second on the Islanders in average time on ice (20:49) behind rookie Matthew Schaefer.
Ryan Pulock battled knee, shoulder injuries
Pulock admitted battling an upper-body injury, which GM Mathieu Darche confirmed was a shoulder injury, that affected him all season. But Pulock also sustained a knee injury in the Islanders’ 7-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on March 21, which cost him two games and affected him the rest of the season.
“I give a credit to Ryan Pulock, because he was hanging by a thread at the end,” Darche said during his end-of-season media availability Wednesday. “He was playing with a knee brace and a shoulder brace. That’s why he didn’t play [the Isles’ season finale vs Carolina].”
Though he was disappointed in how the Islanders’ season ended — they missed the playoffs by losing seven of their final 10 games — Pulock seemed grateful to get right before taking the ice again.
“Today, still not great, but I have time here to take care of things,” Pulock said Wednesday when asked how he felt. “Obviously, it’s going to be an important offseason for me to recover, rehab and find myself strong in a good spot to start next year.”
Neither Pulock nor Darche seemed worried about the defenseman’s knee injury, but the shoulder was still a different story. They were still assessing whether he would need a surgical procedure or if he could get by with just rehab.
“We’re still evaluating whether [surgery] needs to get done,” Darche said. “But again, all the credit to him, because he missed a game here and there, but you see what he goes through to play because we needed him.”
Ryan Pulock ‘expects to be ready’ for Islanders training camp
Shoulder surgery can carry a multi-month recovery timeline, but Pulock doesn’t expect to miss the start of training camp in September.
“I haven’t had all those conversations or made any decisions or anything,” Pulock said. “But whatever route I end up taking, I expect myself to be ready.”
Neither he nor Darche would use the injuries as an excuse for his struggles in 2025-26. Though Pulock finished with his most single-season points since 2019-20, he scored his fewest goals in a season of more than 60 games and had just one power-play point.
“You’re never really 100 percent healthy; you’re always dealing with little things,” Pulock said. “For me, it was a bit of a grind at times just trying to compete every night. I had to play through some things, but I’m not gonna sit here and make excuses.
“I wish I could’ve been better, especially down the stretch.”
