Isles Day to Day: Islanders Postpone Games, Cizikas Enters Protocol

New York Islanders games
will be postponed at least through Nov. 30
, the NHL announced on Saturday afternoon.
Per the NHL:
The National Hockey League announced today that as a result of an additional New York Islanders Player entering COVID Protocol this morning, and up to eight Players potentially unavailable to play due to COVID Protocol, as well as the possibility of additional cases due to spread, the team's games will be postponed at least through Tuesday, Nov. 30. The decision was made by the League in consultation with the NHLPA's and Club's medical groups.
In light of the postponement, Islanders President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello revealed that Casey Cizikas was the latest player to enter COVID Protocol, joining Kieffer Bellows, Zdeno Chara, Andy Greene, Ross Johnston, Anders Lee and Adam Pelech. Josh Bailey, who had been quarantining in Florida since Nov. 16 due to COVID Protocol, returned to New York and rejoined the team for morning skate on Friday. Lamoriello said Bailey would have been a gametime decision for Sunday's game, had the contest not been postponed.

"You all have the news as far as the two games that have been postponed at this point," Lamoriello said. "Also, Casey Cizikas is the player who tested positive, so you are all aware of one of the reasons why these games were postponed."

Lamoriello said he had not asked for Islanders games to be postponed and has maintained the decision is up to the NHL.
"The league over the past couple of years certainly has the best infectious disease medical doctors available, both the union and the league, plus their own physicians," Lamoriello said. "We have to trust, and we do, their decisions. What goes into these decisions, what statistics allow them to make these conclusions, I am not privy to that. All we can do is respond to what their decisions are as we have today."
As part of the postponement, the Islanders practice facility and operations will shut down for the next three days. The team is not allowed to practice, nor can staff congregate at the team facilities at Northwell Health Ice Center. Players and staff will be tested every day in the interim and if they can return negative tests three days in a row, the team could be allowed to resume practicing on Wednesday, Dec. 1. A decision about returning to practice, as well as the status of Thursday's scheduled game vs the San Jose Sharks, will be made at a later date.
The Islanders have currently lost eight-straight games, as the team has missed a host of regulars due to COVID Protocols, as well as injuries. Lamoriello said despite the adversity that has confronted the organization, the players and staff are staying focused on elements within their control.
"What we have no control of, you can't be distracted by, all you can do is just stay focused on what you do have control of," Lamoriello said. "Our coaching staff has done that, we've asked our players to do that and I think they've done a tremendous job over these set of circumstances, starting off with being on the road, coming back and having one practice going into a new facility and then being hit with the COVID. You can say it's unfortunate, but I don't want to say frustrations can get in the way. Certainly everyone is human, but right now all we can do is take a step back and use these three days and get prepared for our next practice and our next game."