Morning Skate Updates: Islanders at Blue Jackets

The New York Islanders take on the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena at 7 p.m. Watch on MSG+, MSG GO or NHL.TV. Listen live on 88.7FM WRHU, 103.9FM LI News or online at radio.com/islanders. Read the game preview. Check the game notes.

Andrew Ladd out for the remainder of the season](https://www.nhl.com/video/c-67224003)

LADD OUT FOR SEASON:

The big news from Tuesday's skate was the announcement that Andrew Ladd had torn his ACL and will miss the next five months. President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello announced the news during the team's optional skate. Read more at Isles Day to Day.
Full reactions from
Barry Trotz
,
Anders Lee
and
Lamoriello
.

THE TANNER FRITZ RETURNS TO OHIO:

Tanner Fritz has played a lot of hockey in Columbus, OH, just not a lot at Nationwide Arena.
Instead, Fritz played four years of college hockey at Ohio State University, where he recorded 110 points (36G, 74A) in 142 games and captained the team in his senior year. Fritz has a lot of fondness for The Schottenstein Center (OSU's rink) and the city of Columbus itself. He trains at OSU in the summers, met his wife Brandy, who is an Ohio native, at school, and plans to make Columbus their offseason home.
"I loved it here, I had a great time, I love the city of Columbus," Fritz said. "I'm moving back here this summer. Me and my wife are going to have our first kid. It's pretty much my home now."
Between the in-laws and college buddies, Fritz should have a nice cheering section when the Isles take on the Blue Jackets. He's looking forward to playing a pro game in his adopted hometown.
"It's pretty cool. This will be my first experience here," Fritz said. "We maybe played here once in college, but to get my first NHL game here… it'll be a pretty exciting day and I'm looking forward to it."

Fritz's one game at Nationwide Arena came way back in March 2014, a 4-3 loss to the Michigan Wolverines. He remembers a lively crowd of about 14,000. The Isles center said he used to take in about one Jackets game a month when he was at school.
"There were some guys we were pretty close with on the Blue Jackets at the time," Fritz said. "We made some good friendships, so it was cool to have it five minutes away from campus."
It'll be a little cooler coming back as a pro - and one primed with an extended audition at the NHL level. With Valtteri Filppula out four weeks, Fritz is his replacement and has made an impression on Barry Trotz with his hustle so far.
"Tanner has an opportunity to solidify himself for the remainder of this year and maybe going forward," Trotz said. "If you want to be evaluated, this time of year and playoffs - if we can get there - that's where you can make a name for yourself or solidify a spot in the future. It's a great opportunity for him."

ISLES-BLUE JACKETS IV:

The Islanders are looking to sweep the regular season series with the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. There's a lot on the line for both teams. With a regulation win, the Islanders can lower their magic number from five to one, as Columbus is currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
It's do-or-die territory for the Blue Jackets (86 points), who are two points back of the Montreal Canadiens (88 points) for the second wild card with seven games to go. Columbus needs every point it can get, especially with a head-to-head matchup vs Montreal on Thursday.

FOLIGNO BACK WITH CBJ:

Nick Foligno is back in the lineup after missing four games on personal leave. The Blue Jackets captain was tending to his young son, Hudson, who's been battling pneumonia, per Alison Lukan of The Athletic. All the best to the Foligno family.
More on this from nhl.com/bluejackets
.

BLUE JACKETS PROJECTED LINES:

Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson
Ryan Dzingel - Matt Duchene - Josh Anderson
Oliver Bjorkstrand - Alexander Wennberg - Boone Jenner
Nick Foligno - Riley Nash - Brandon Dubinsky
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Markus Nutivaara - David Savard
Dean Kukan - Adam McQuaid
Sergei Bobrovsky