New York Islanders Lose Another Player to COVID-19 Protocol

The New York Islanders are dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak and it's putting their upcoming games in jeopardy. Defenseman Zdeno Chara is the latest Islander to be out of action. 

The 44-year-old defenseman joins a long list of Islanders which includes Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, Kieffer Bellows, Ross Johnston, Andy Greene and Adam Pelech.

Wondering at what point Olympic participation is at risk. https://t.co/M24YFjFiPX

— Allan Walsh (@walsha) November 23, 2021

Well that flight was dreadful. Anywhoo…#Isles are without Brock Nelson for 2-4 weeks, Zdeno Chara is the latest to land on COVID-19 protocol, Josh Bailey to return to the team this upcoming weekend and Anatolii Golyshev and Thomas Hickey have been recalled.

Think that’s all.

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) November 23, 2021

All the outbreaks across the league are also starting the conversation about the NHL potentially missing out on the Olympics. At this point the Ottawa Senators are the only one to have games postponed and Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello confirmed the show will go on and nothing has changed regarding the teams' schedule. Lamoriello had this to say recently to NHL.com:

We'll continue to do what we have control of. You can't deal with things that are out of your hands. Certainly, these are difficult times, but we will stay focused on the players we have, what our abilities are to replace players if necessary and just stay as positive as we possibly can. I don't think there's any way you could approach this or handle this any differently. There is no decision, to my knowledge. We're preparing to play unless we hear otherwise

The Islanders are on a six game losing streak and it looks like that's not going to be ending anytime soon.

Photo credit:   Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports