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 team, which now has six total players in COVID protocol. Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, and Ross Johnston were added over the past week. Their number one defenseman, Ryan Pulock, is on injured reserve.
The Islanders recalled forwards Richard Panik and Andy Andreoff as well as defensemen Grant Hutton and Paul LaDue today from the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. Hutton, along with Robin Salo, who the Islanders recalled earlier, could make his NHL debut.
Losing Beauvillier and Pelech, in particular, is tough to swallow for the Islanders, who sit third-last in the Eastern Conference with a 5-6-2 record after their season-opening 13-game road trip. Beauvillier is one of the team’s 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 and with a +4 rating, his minutes will be tough to replace.
so when are these guys eligible to come back?