Halak Returns from IR after Sabres Stun Isles in Shootout

Prior to their game on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres, the Islanders announced that they had placed goalie Jaroslav Halak on injured reserve retroactive to December 20th. This meant that the Islanders had to be without him through the completion of Saturday's games. So despite getting his maintenance day in the final game before the holiday break, the Isles deemed that it made sense to give him one more game against a weaker team to get over his bumps and bruises.