Islanders Won't Play In Short Term Due To COVID-19 Outbreak: NHL

NEW YORK CITY — The New York Islanders will not play through at least Thursday due to an outbreak of positive COVID-19 cases, the National Hockey League announced Saturday.

The league said in a statement that an Islanders player had entered COVID-19 protocol on Saturday morning and that with up to eight players unable to play because they had already entered the coronavirus protocol, along with the potential of other players having to enter the protocol, the team would not be playing games until at least Tuesday.

The NHL is in the process of reviewing and revising the Islanders’ regular season schedule, the statement said. The Islanders were to have played the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday and were scheduled to play the Flyers in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

“The Islanders organization has followed, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of its players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, local, state and national agencies,” the league statement said.

The NHL previously postponed three Ottawa Senators game due to a COVID-19 outbreak. The Islanders have lost eight straight games.