CHICAGO — You’re going to miss a lot when you miss two months. Travis Hamonic has certainly missed more than 24 games in his absence due to a knee injury.
The team Hamonic left behind when he took a knee-on-knee hit from the Arizona’s Lawson Crouse on Jan. 7 was stuck in last in the East, bobbing along at a .500 points percentage without much to look forward to.
Jack Capuano was fired 10 days later, Doug Weight took over and Hamonic’s teammates started to play spirited hockey. With Hamonic back in the lineup, the Islanders entered Friday’s game here against the Blackhawks in the second wild-card spot in the East.