Isaac Howard hurt as Emil Heineman gets major, ejection

It happened in the neutral zone, early in the first period on Long Island. Howard barely got his skates wet before his day was over.

Spittin' Chiclets

@spittinchiclets

Heineman gets 5 and a game for this knee-on-knee collision with Ike Howard.

That's a bad one. Knee-on-knee is the hit every player hates, because nobody has to be dirty for it to wreck a season. You're half a step late, your leg sticks out, and the other guy's ligaments pay for it. The officials called Heineman for a 5-minute major for kneeing at 2:22 of the first, went to review, and upheld it. Heineman was ejected, and the Islanders played the rest of the afternoon with 11 forwards.

Andrew Gross

@AGrossNewsday

Oilers' Howard being helped off the ice. Collided with Heineman in the neutral zone. Looked to be knee-to-knee. Howard goes straight to Edmonton room. Called a five-minute major on Heineman for kneeing. Upheld after review. Heineman ejected.

The scary part isn't the penalty, it's how Howard left the ice. He needed help to get off, he went straight to the Edmonton room instead of the bench, and the people in the building said he never put any weight on that left leg. You never want to diagnose from the press box, but that's not how a guy walks off a stinger.

Jason Gregor

@JasonGregor

That doesn’t look good for Howard. Clear knee-on-knee by Heineman. Major penalty for Heineman and a game misconduct. Edmonton goes to PP, but Howard didn’t put any weight on his leg leaving the ice.

Heineman didn't take it well. On his way out he slammed his stick against the tunnel, and Eklund went to the box to serve the major. Edmonton couldn't do much with the 5 minutes either. A Nugent-Hopkins trip at 4:45 turned it into 4-on-4, and the Oilers got only 38 seconds of the major back once that ended.

Here's why Oilers fans are holding their breath. Howard isn't some throw-in. He won the Hobey Baker as college hockey's best player at Michigan State, then told Tampa Bay he wouldn't sign there. The Lightning moved him to Edmonton for prospect center Sam O'Reilly, and he signed a 3-year entry-level deal with the Oilers. He's one of the few young, cheap scoring wingers on a roster that badly needs them around McDavid and Draisaitl, so losing him for any real stretch hurts.

Next up is the Department of Player Safety. Their whole test is built around plays that injure an opponent, and a knee-on-knee hit that ended a guy's day on his first shift checks every box. If Heineman gets a hearing, it'll be worth watching how long the ban is. Everyone in Edmonton cares more about the medical update on Howard's knee, though, and until that comes out, you have to assume the worst and hope for a lot better.