Islanders now have six players in COVID protocol

Just under two hours ahead of the New York Islanders’ home opener against the Calgary Flames, Anthony Beauvillier, Adam Pelech and Andy Greene were added to the NHL’s COVID protocol, per Newsday’s Andrew Gross.

It’s an extremely tough situation for the Islanders, who now have six total players in COVID protocol. Josh Bailey, Anders Lee and Ross Johnston were added over the past week. Their No. 1 defenseman, Ryan Pulock, is on injured reserve.

The Islanders recalled forward Richard Panik as well as defensemen Grant Hutton and Paul LaDue on Saturday from the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. All three of those skaters will be forced into action Saturday, as the Islanders carry no other extra skaters. They’ll run 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the franchise’s first game at UBS Arena. Hutton, along with Robin Salo, whom the Islanders recalled earlier, will be making their NHL debuts.

Losing Beauvillier and Pelech, in particular, is tough to swallow for the Islanders, who are 5-6-2 after their season-opening 13-game road trip. Beauvillier is one of the Isles' top point producers with three goals and seven points through 13 games this season. While Pelech has just two assists, he’s counted on for his defense, not his scoring ability. He’s averaged 21:07 per game; his minutes will be tough to replace since he has a plus-4 rating.