Nothing is going right for the New York Islanders right now.
They have lost six games in a row, are residing in the basement of the Metropolitan Division, and have several key players out of their lineup due to COVID protocols and injuries.
Both lists added another name on Tuesday.
The Islanders announced that forward Brock Nelson is going to be sidelined for the next 2-4 weeks with a lower-body injury, while defenseman Zdeno Chara has been added to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.
Chara joins a COVID list that already includes Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, Adam Pelech, Andy Greene, Ross Johnston, and Kieffer Bellows.
Defenseman Ryan Pulock is also out of the lineup for several weeks due to injury.
Both lists include three of their top forwards and most of their defense, including their top defense pairing (Pelech and Pulock).
If there is any good news for the Islanders here it is that Bailey is expected to return to New York this weekend after being in Florida during his COVID isolation.
The Islanders have a big stretch of divisional games ahead playing the New York Rangers twice, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers over the next week. We have already seen the NHL postpone a couple of Ottawa Senators games after they had nine players in COVID protocols, but it is not yet known if the NHL would consider similar measures with the Islanders’ situation.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.