Clutterbuck rips Barclays Center ice after Tavares injury
Cal Clutterbuck is taking aim at the New York Islanders' much maligned arena in the wake of the injury that will keep John Tavares out for the rest of the regular season.
“You see a guy's heel dig in like that, it doesn't happen other places," Clutterbuck told Newsday's Arthur Staple postgame Friday after Tavares fell behind the New Jersey Devils net and left the game late in the third period.
"It's something that doesn't get addressed," Clutterbuck added. "It was a little worse (Friday than it's been). It had been a little better the last few games, but not tonight.”
Tavares was deemed week to week Saturday, officially with a lower-body injury that Staple reports is a left hamstring ailment.
Related: Tavares injury likely the death knell for tumultuous Islanders season
Ice conditions at Barclays Center have been a subplot all season, from October's report that the piping system doesn't meet NHL requirements, to a January story claiming arena officials were planning to terminate their agreement with the club.
Last March, former Islanders forward Kyle Okposo called the ice "awful" and openly pleaded for improvements to the conditions after a shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
If the Islanders do indeed hope to sign Tavares to a contract extension, addressing the ice surface might not be a bad idea.