Noah Dobson and the Islanders had an encounter with COVID-19. It started in mid-March when Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Dobson were added to the NHL COVID-19 Protocol List.

J-G Pageau off the NHL COVID protocol list today. Noah Dobson still on the list for #Isles, no one else added as of now.

— Arthur Staple (@StapeAthletic) March 15, 2021

Pageau quickly returned, but Dobson remained on the list. While nothing is confirmed, the young defenseman has been out for two weeks.

BREAKING: Sources are saying #Isles Noah Dobson is positive for COVID-19 and will miss the next two weeks.

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) March 16, 2021

Yesterday, he was removed from the COVID-19 Protocol List.

Noah Dobson no longer on #NHL COVID-19 protocol list. #Isles

— Brian Compton (@BComptonNHL) March 24, 2021

No matter what happened, this is an amazing testament to the New York Islanders. A player has been dealing with COVID-19, either personally or elsewhere, and the Islanders isolated the case and avoided an outbreak. That is impressive during the global pandemic. The Bruins were not so lucky.

Due to a COVID-19 outbreak among Bruins players, it was announced Friday that their game against the Islanders Tuesday was postponed. The outbreak also caused the Bruins to miss their matchup against the Sabres on Saturday.

The Islanders plan to play in Boston today. Five Bruins forwards were on the NHL’s COVID Protocol List. They were Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci, Sean Kuraly, David Pastrnak and Craig Smith.

For the rest of the season, plugging this game into any off day would cause three straight games for the Bruins. They no longer have more than one consecutive day off. So, this game is likely to be rescheduled for May 10.

Technically, the season ends on May 8th. However, other teams are utilizing the time between the regular season and playoffs. On May 10, there will be Stars vs. Blackhawks, Devils vs. Flyers and Hurricanes vs. Predators. All of these were because of postponements. So, the Islanders might be playing their final regular season game this season on May 10 at TD Garden, even though the original schedule has them finishing with a home game against the Devils.

Ben Kule

Die-Hard Islanders fan and writer from Plainview, Long Island, NY. I have a passion and knowledge for this team and I enjoy sharing that with others