New York Islanders Game with Boston Postponed Due to COVID-19 Protocols

The New York Islanders will get an extra day of rest next week.

The NHL announced on Friday that they had postponed two of the Boston Bruins’ upcoming games, which included their meeting with the Islanders on Tuesday in Beantown. Boston had four additional players go into COVID-19 protocols, a league press release said.

Tuesday’s game was to be the first of two games in Boston for the Islanders. The league appeared to be operating on the assumption that Boston’s schedule would only be impacted for those two games.

The NHL said that, pending test results, Boston’s practice facility could reopen on Wednesday.

The New York Islanders have had several schedule changes this season, including a very pronounced one in the beginning of February when the Buffalo Sabres suffered a COVID-19 outbreak canceling two games that had been scheduled between the two teams.

It’s unclear if the Islanders’ meeting with Boston Thursday will be impacted by the postponement. The Islanders have a pretty compacted schedule next week with five games over a six-day span.

That obviously changes with Friday’s news.

The Islanders have been dealing with a COVID-19 protocol issue themselves this past week. Noah Dobson has been on the COVID protocol list since Sunday and has missed three straight games because of it.

Sebastian Aho took Dobson’s spot on the blue line while the young defenseman has been sidelined.