Breaking: Defenseman to miss over a month with severe injury.

The New York Islanders have just been dealt a major blow.

The team has announced that defenseman Johnny Boychuk will miss significant time, four to six weeks, as a result of the injury he suffered when crashing awkwardly into the boards during a match up against Buffalo on New Year's Eve.

The Islanders did not go into detail regarding the nature of the injury, simply labelling it an "upper-body" injury, although based on the video it appears it would likely be an injury to his arm or shoulder area.

The Islanders will be hard pressed to replace a defenseman like Boychuk for over a month.

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