from Arthur Staple of The Athletic,

On Wednesday, for the first time in a week, there were no additions to the COVID protocol list. But it still wasn’t a step in the right direction as Noah Dobson became the fifth regular defenseman to be sidelined, this time by a lower-body injury. That left Scott Mayfield as the only top-six regular D-man in the lineup for the Ranger game, with Thomas Hickey and Paul LaDue the latest Islanders (along with center Otto Koivula) to make their season debuts.

It went about as you’d expect: The Isles worked hard, they played well at times but it wasn’t enough. It seems impossible to believe it can ever be enough while missing 10 of the original 21 skaters on the roster at the start of the season. And it’s not as if the Islanders entered this COVID-and-injury minefield playing well; they’d lost three straight before the things started to fall apart with the roster.

Now it’s seven straight, all by at least three goals. A mind-boggling stretch that doesn’t have an endpoint yet — all seven players in COVID protocol are still testing positive despite reportedly mild symptoms. Josh Bailey is eligible to come out of protocol Friday, Anders Lee and Ross Johnston on Sunday.

By then it may feel too late to do enough to right this season that’s gone so terribly wrong.

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