NEW YORK — Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov will be out for five to six months following surgery on his right shoulder, the team said Sunday.

The injury to the 25-year-old Romanov occurred Tuesday in Dallas in the final minute of regulation when he was hit from behind by Stars forward Mikko Rantanen.

Romanov, who had to be helped from the ice, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. He has one assist in 15 games this season. He signed an eight-year, $50 million contract last summer.

“He’s not happy,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said before Sunday’s 1-0 shootout win over the Seattle Kraken. “We have to move on. We don’t replace a player like that.”

Roy said the team would rely on Adam Boqvist and Marshall Warren in place of the speedy Romanov.

“You hope that the guys coming in will fit it and hopefully that Boqvist will play like he’s been playing,” Roy said of his defense corps, which has been bolstered by 18-year-old rookie standout Matthew Schaefer.

Rantanen received a five-minute boarding penalty and game misconduct, but no additional discipline from the league for the hit on Romanov. He was suspended for one game earlier Sunday following a hit on Calgary‘s Matt Coronato during Saturday’s game.

Roy was furious after Rantanen’s hit on Romanov and yelled at the Dallas player as he went to the locker room through a tunnel between the benches.

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan defended his player because he believed Rantanen’s skate was clipped by Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield, causing him to raise his arms for balance just before contact with Romanov.

Rantanen said he did not intend to injure Romanov. He is in his first full season with Dallas after getting traded twice last season.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen received an automatic one-game suspension after getting ejected from his second game in a three-game span.

Rantanen received a game misconduct late in the second period of Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Flames after boarding forward Matt Coronato from behind. Coronato was able to finish the game, but Calgary coach Ryan Huska called it “a terrible hit.”

The NHL Department of Player Safety chose not to have a hearing for Rantanen following his latest infraction, according to sources, and instead relied on Rule 23.6 of the NHL rulebook which mandates an automatic one-game suspension for any player who receives a total of two game misconduct penalties in the “Physical Infractions Category” within 41 consecutive regular-season games.

The suspension will bench Rantanen for Tuesday night’s matchup in Edmonton against the Oilers, a rematch of last year’s Western Conference final, which the Oilers won in five games.

Rantanen, 29, is tied with Jason Robertson for the team lead with 28 points over 22 games (10 goals, 18 assists). With his two ejections, he now leads the team with a whopping 57 penalty minutes.

Saturday’s hit was the latest in a tough week for Rantanen.

In last Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Islanders, the Stars winger was also ejected late in the game after boarding defenseman Alexander Romanov. That play drew the ire of Islanders coach Patrick Roy, who went on a profane tirade as Rantanen left the ice, then later called the hit “disrespectful.”

“I’m going to say is [that] when you see the number, you have to lay off. Everybody knows that. You don’t go through the guy,” Roy said after the game. “I was in Colorado when [Rantanen] was drafted there. It’s not his style. But at the same time, that should not be part of our game.”

Romanov will have shoulder surgery and is expected to be out five to six months, the Islanders said Sunday.

Rantanen has no history of supplemental discipline over his 11-year-career, which has spanned Colorado, Carolina and now Dallas. Rantanen’s only noted history with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety before this suspension was an embellishment fine.

CHICAGO — Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves for his first shutout and the Colorado Avalanche extended their winning streak to nine games with a 1-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night.

Cale Makar scored late in the second period for the NHL-leading Avalanche, whose run is the team’s longest since winning nine straight March 4-24, 2024. Colorado improved to 16-1-5 and has points in 13 straight (11-0-2) since its lone regulation loss at Boston on Oct. 25.

Spencer Knight made 25 saves for the Blackhawks, losers of three straight following a six-game (5-0-1) point streak.

Wedgewood’s ninth career shutout gave the Avalanche two in two nights. Colorado was coming of a 3-0 win at Nashville on Saturday behind Mackenzie Blackwood‘s 35 saves.

Wedgewood, a backup during most of his career, leads the NHL with 13 wins and entered with a league-best 2.23 goals-against average.

Makar leads NHL defensemen with nine goals and with 29 points. Tristen Nielsen, skating in his fourth NHL game, set up Makar’s goal for his first point.

The Blackhawks dominated the scoreless first period, outshooting Colorado 11-2 and testing Wedgewood on several close-in chances. His sharpest save might have been on Ryan Green, who fired a one-timer when he was alone in the crease with 5:42 left.

The Avalanche pushed back in the second and outshot Chicago 19-1.

Makar finally connected with 1:39 left in the second on Colorado’s 19th shot of the game, firing in a rebound from the left circle. The goal was set up when Knight’s clearing pass was picked off by Nielsen in the slot, then Nielsen turned and took a first shot from the right circle.

Chicago pressured late in the third, but Wedgewood made several close-in saves, including a point-blank stop on Frank Nazar with 43 seconds left and Knight pulled for an extra attacker.