From bad to worse, the New York Islanders just can't catch a break. Before the Islanders were set to practice at 1:00 pm, which was already moved back once already, Lou Lamoriello met with the media.
During that meeting he let us in on some bad news. First, Brock Nelson will be out two to four weeks with a lower body injury.
Brock Nelson is currently leading the Islanders in points and goals (11 points, 9 goals) through the team's first 15 games of the season. As the team's second-line center, this is a major blow considering the lack of scoring already on this team.
This is on the heels of the Islanders already losing Ryan Pulock for four to six weeks due to a lower body injury just a few days ago. That wasn't all, Zdeno Chara is now on the list of players who has tasted positive for COVID.
For those keeping track at home that is now seven guys on the roster unavailable due to a COVID outbreak.
The team is still practicing today and Anatolii Golyshev and Thomas Hickey are getting called up as a result of the injury and COVID news. The Islanders have a game tomorrow against the Rangers, and as of now it is still on schedule to be played.
The league stepped up and suspension of the Ottawa Senators season and the league should do the same for the Islanders before things get even worse. 30 percent of the roster has now tested positive for COVID, how can a team possibly not have a competitive disadvantage at that point? Plus isn't the whole point to stop the spread of the virus? Keeping these guys together is only making matters worse.
It's only 15 games in but this has truly been the season of hell for the New York Islanders.