Ondrej Palat

Ondrej Palat dishes exclusively to The Post that he's happy fitting right in with the Islanders after a month of pure chaos. Battle-tested wings like Palat stabilize lineups when trades shake things up. Isles GM Lou Lamoriello builds winners this way, and Palat's vibe hints at bigger things brewing.

The New York Islanders shake off the Olympic roster freeze and dive back into action with GM Mathieu Darche's phone lighting up like it's deadline eve. They've already flipped for Ondrej Palat and Carson Soucy to steady the lineup, but whispers of Jordan Kyrou or Robert Thomas from St. Louis have the front office buzzing about bigger swings.

The Islanders shake off the Olympic freeze and dive back into action this week, with GM Mathieu Darche's recent wheeling and dealing already paying dividends in depth. Those savvy swaps for Ondrej Palat and Carson Soucy plug holes left by injuries to Kyle Palmieri and Alexander Romanov, but whispers of more moves swirl as the trade tree from Alexei Yashin's old deals keeps sprouting unexpected fruit.

Winnipeg's top blueliner Josh Morrissey lands on injured reserve with an upper-body issue from Canada's opening Olympic clash against Czechia, where a hit from Ondrej Palat sidelined him for the tournament's remainder. TSN's Darren Dreger warns of a good chunk of time missed, while coach Scott Arniel confirms no go Wednesday in Vancouver but hints at a possible road trip reunion post-evaluation.

In the heat of the Olympic quarterfinals against Canada, Czechia wires home Ondrej Palat's third goal of the game on what sure looks like an odd-man rush fueled by an extra skater nobody called. Replays and viral photos make it crystal clear: six Czechs clogging the defensive zone when Tomas Hertl blocks Thomas Harley's shot and springs Martin Necas free, leaving Canada's backcheck scrambling against numbers they shouldn't have faced.

Canada's coach Jon Cooper delivers the latest on Sidney Crosby's lower-body scare from that brutal second-period sequence against Czechia, where Radko Gudas and Martin Necas sandwiched the Penguins captain right after an earlier hit from Ondrej Palat. A sports doctor is sounding alarms about the potential severity, while Crosby limps off favoring his right leg in a game Canada clawed back to win.