NHL postpones Islanders games through Nov. 30 due to COVID-19 protocol

The NHL has postponed two more games for coronavirus-related reasons, making it five so far this season.

Upcoming New York Islanders games Sunday at the Rangers and Tuesday at the Philadelphia Flyers were postponed after additional players went into the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol on Saturday. The team would have had as many as eight players unavailable.

The league says the possibility of additional spread contributed to the Islanders’ games through at least Tuesday being called off for now. The team has said captain Anders Lee, fellow forwards Ross Johnston and Kieffer Bellows and defensemen Zdeno Chara, Adam Pelech and Andy Greene were in protocol, and winger Josh Bailey only recently resumed skating after being quarantined.

The earliest the Islanders could return to action is Dec. 4 against the Red Wings in Detroit.

General manager Lou Lamoriello said as recently as Wednesday that none of the players who were positive for the virus had tested negative to clear the way to return. The short-handed Islanders lost 1-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins at home Friday night.

“We’re kind of piecemealing it,” coach Barry Trotz said after the loss. “The young guys who have come in, they’re doing what they can. … They’re doing the job that they can. There’s no one not trying right now.”

The NHL postponed three Ottawa Senators games in mid-November because of that team’s virus outbreak. One of those games, at the New Jersey Devils, has been rescheduled for Dec. 6.

Ottawa is 0-3-0 since resuming play and put goaltender Matt Murray on waivers Saturday. Murray allowed four goals on 27 shots in a loss Wednesday, his only start since being activated off the COVID-19 list.

When the NHL agreed to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, the league and the NHL Players’ Association added the caveat that they could withdraw based on pandemic conditions. It would take a significant amount of postponements to trigger the NHL/NHLPA withdrawal for a material disruption to the season that would require the 2 1/2-week Olympic break in February to make up games.

The league and players have until Jan. 10 to pull out without financial penalty.

On Friday, Hockey Canada named Claude Julien head coach of Canada’s men’s hockey team for a pair of international tournaments next month as part of a potential plan B staff if the NHL does not participate in the Olympics.

Julien will lead Canada’s entries at both the Channel One Cup in Russia and the Spengler Cup in Switzerland. The 61-year-old will be joined by assistants Bruce Boudreau and Scott Walker, while Hockey Canada also announced Shane Doan as general manager.

Canada’s rosters for the December events are usually comprised of European-based professionals. The country’s entry for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang was selected from the Channel One Cup and Spengler Cup pool of players after the NHL declined to participate in South Korea.