Islanders’ Latest COVID-19 Outbreak Likely Their Last
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 has and will continue to spread rapidly through sports teams like the New York Islanders, who are dealing with yet another outbreak of the virus.
But there’s only a finite number of players on the team. Once everyone’s already gotten sick, they likely won’t get COVID-19 again for at least the rest of the season.
With the Islanders adding Anthony Beauvillier, Oliver Wahlstrom, Zach Parise and Cal Clutterbuck to COVID-19 protocol on Sunday, and Brock Nelson on Tuesday, almost everyone on the team has been out with the virus at some point this season.
The only forwards to have not gotten COVID-19 yet are J-G Pageau, and Kyle Palmieri. On defense, only Scott Mayfield, Noah Dobson and Ryan Pulock have been spared, as well as goalies Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov. Pageau and Dobson happen to be among the few Islanders who were on the COVID-19 protocol list last season.
That means that the Islanders likely won’t be dealing with another COVID-19 outbreak for the rest of the season. The only thing that can get in the way of a healthy roster from now until April is injuries.
Luckily, the vaccine appears to prevent severe illness and death among COVID-19 patients, including NHL athletes. The Islanders, having already gone through a COVID-19 outbreak in late November, have seen players return to form after being ill. For example, Anders Lee and Adam Pelech were among the first Isles to test positive. Lee has points in five of his last six games and Adam Pelech played over 24 minutes in three games this season, all after he tested positive for COVID-19.
That leaves only one thing left for the Islanders to worry about this season: getting back to the playoffs. The players who tested positive on Sunday can potentially return before next Wednesday’s game against the Seattle Kraken, assuming they don’t have two negative tests between now and then.
The Islanders will play the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. They should have Mat Barzal, Matt Martin and Robin Salo, who all entered COVID-19 protocol before the Holiday Break, available to enter the lineup. The Sabres are ahead of the Islanders in the standings, with all three head-to-head matches left on the schedule. The Islanders are three points behind them with four games in hand. A win on Thursday would be a strong start on the road back to the playoffs.
The Islanders will also hopefully have their entire roster healthy for a tough January slate of divisional games. They play the Devils, Capitals, Blue Jackets and Flyers twice in a two-week span, with all five of those games at UBS Arena. Hopefully, this current outbreak can put any future COVID-19 concerns to bed as the team enters the most important leg of its season.
Born and raised on Long Island. Isles fan since 2009. Studying journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.
