Michael Dal Colle Bridgeport Sound Tigers
(Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

A few roster moves were made by the home team ahead of the Battle of New York as the Islanders have placed three players on the IR and recalled two from Bridgeport.

Thursday night, the New York Islanders will host the New York Rangers in the first of four matchups between the two rivals this season.

Before the game, the Islanders made a few transactions, placing Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas, and Andrew Ladd on the injured reserve (IR). In addition, the team has called Michael Dal Colle and Stephen Gionta up from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Martin was banged up in the Islanders’ 3-2 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov. 1 and has been considered day-to-day since. Cizikas is expected to miss 2-3 weeks and Ladd is out indefinitely.

Coming up from the Sound Tigers, Gionta will most likely take Cizikas’ spot in the lineup Thursday night for his second game of the season. While held off the scoresheet in his lone NHL game this season, the 35-year-old veteran has one assist in three games with Bridgeport.

Dal Colle, the fifth overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, is also being called up from Bridgeport and deservingly so. Dal Colle has seven goals and 14 points in as many AHL games this season and has looked like a completely different player. This marks the second NHL call-up for Dal Colle in his young career, playing four games but recording no points with the Islanders last season.

Head coach Barry Trotz hasn’t revealed anything about the lineup he plans to roll out Thursday night but it is expected that Gionta will fill in for Cizikas, Ross Johnston will go in for Ladd, Adam Pelech will take back his spot in the lineup from Luca Sbisa, and Thomas Greiss will start in goal.

This speculation was based off the optional morning skate where according to Andrew Gross of Newsday, Dal Colle stayed on long after practice was over and Greiss was the first goaltender off.

As a die-hard New York Islanders fan, I joined ESNY to help keep other Isles fans updated on what's going on with their favorite team. Follow me on Twitter (@Shazen21) for updates on the team and when I post new content and check out my YouTube (Islanders Highlights) for player highlight videos, pump up videos, and more!