Not Heading West: NHL Postpones Islanders Road Trip

Following the game against the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 1, the New York Islanders were planning on heading out west for contests against the Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and Calgary Flames. Those games have all been postponed and will be rescheduled for later dates.

#Isles News: The Islanders games on Jan. 4 (@ SEA), Jan. 5 (@ VAN), Jan. 8 (@ EDM) and Jan. 11 (@ CGY) have been postponed. The games will be rescheduled for dates later this season.

— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) December 31, 2021

These moves were made due to the attendance restrictions in Canadian cities.

For those wondering, #Isles game against #SeaKraken was postponed due to the postponement of the other three games.

No point in traveling out West for one game.

— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) December 31, 2021

The Islanders, who have already played the second-fewest games in the NHL at 27, will continue to stay behind the eight-ball. Following their game against Edmonton on Saturday (Jan. 1), the Islanders will have another elongated break, 12 days, before a matchup with the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 13.

While this time off does not allow the Islanders to build on their recent play, it will allow them to get as healthy as can be before the schedule picks up again in what will be a rather busy rest of the season.

Islanders head coach Barry Trotz spoke before the Holiday break, as he stated that the NHL should try to get games that can be played. With all the make-ups, especially for the Islanders, fatigue is going to play a factor despite how healthy the roster will be at that point.

Along with the four Islanders postponements, the NHL has also postponed three others. Vegas will not travel to Canada for a back-to-back against Edmonton and Calgary (Jan. 14, Jan. 15), and Edmonton will not travel to Winnipeg (Jan. 16).