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Islanders place Nielsen (broken hand) on injured reserve

Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Islanders - Game Six

in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 11, 2013 in Uniondale, New York.

Paul Bereswill

The New York Islanders announced Sunday that center Frans Nielsen has been placed on injured reserve with a hand injury. It is retroactive to Feb. 8, the Islanders’ final game before the Olympic break.

Nielsen suffered a broken hand on an Erik Johnson slash and, as of Feb. 11, was expected to be out for a month. Johnson received a two-game suspension for what the NHL Department of Player Safety deemed a “reckless” and “violent” two-handed slash.

The 29-year-old Nielsen, who, according to Capgeek.com, is in the second year of a four-year contract worth a cap hit of $2.75 million, has appeared in 60 games for the Islanders this season. He’s scored 18 goals and has 43 points.

It’s tough news for the Islanders, who learned earlier during the Olympic break that their star forward John Tavares is done for the season with a torn MCL. The injury occurred while playing for Team Canada during the quarter-final of the men’s hockey competition in Sochi.

Islanders general manager Garth Snow sounded off on the Tavares injury, clearly not happy with the IOC and IIHF.

“Are the IIHF or IOC going to reimburse our season ticket holders now?” Snow asked. “It’s a joke. They want all the benefits from NHL players in Olympics and don’t want to pay when our best player gets hurt.”

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