DETROIT — The Islanders could be without top-line center Mathew Barzal, their latest player to enter COVID-19 protocol this season, for at least five games. They can’t afford for their offense to be absent as well. It mostly was Tuesday night as the Red Wings won, 2-1, at Little Caesars Arena.
The last-place Islanders (7-12-5) did make it interesting at the end. Captain Anders Lee brought them within a goal by deflecting Noah Dobson’s shot at 17:27 of the third period with goalie Ilya Sorokin (37 saves) off for an extra skater. Red Wings goalie Alex Nedeljkovic (33 saves) gloved Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s hard shot milliseconds after the final buzzer sounded.
Coach Barry Trotz announced before the game Barzal, the only Islander not to participate in the morning skate, had been placed in COVID-19 protocol and said after the game that Barzal had tested positive and will be staying in Detroit.
The Islanders have said that all members of the organization have been vaccinated.
But Barzal is the ninth Islander to enter protocol since Josh Bailey first tested positive on Nov. 16. The other eight — Bailey, who wound up having to quarantine in Florida, Lee, Ross Johnston, Kieffer Bellows, Casey Cizikas and defensemen Adam Pelech, Zdeno Chara and Andy Greene — have all returned to the lineup.
Before Barzal, Cizikas was the last to test positive on Nov. 27.
The Islanders had games against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 28 and at Philadelphia on Nov. 30 postponed because of their COVID-19 outbreak.
“We’ve had a lot of guys that have had it so you should be good for at least 90 days,” Trotz said before the game. “At least half our team is pretty good, I think. I think we’ve been doing everything in terms of all the protocols that we need to do. It’s a virus. Someone picked it up and we move on.”
The durable Barzal could miss the five games leading into the NHL’s holiday break from Dec. 24-26 if he remains in quarantine for the full 10 days. Prior to Tuesday, Barzal had played in all but one game since joining the Islanders’ lineup on a full-time basis to start the 2017-18 season.
Barzal is on a six-game point streak, with one goal and eight assists in that span. Five of the assists came on the power play, which was 5-of-13 the last six games and 0-for-1 without a shot on goal on Tuesday.
“Mat has been really good on the power play for us,” Trotz said. “Our power play is getting a little bit of traction and rhythm. We’ll miss him there.”
Dylan Larkin’s power-play goal at 10:32 of the second period with defenseman Scott Mayfield off for hooking him gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead on Sorokin’s lone bad moment. Sorokin tried to use his blocker to knock away Larkin’s wrist shot from the high slot but, instead, deflected the puck in.
Michael Rasmussen’s laser shot past Sorokin’s blocker as he kept the puck on a two-on-one rush made it 2-0 at 12:55 of the third period.
Sorokin stopped all 14 shots he faced in the first period while Anthony Beauvillier, back after being a healthy scratch against the Devils, prevented Pius Suter from a two-on-one chance with a solid stick backcheck late in the period. Part of the reason Trotz benched Beauvillier was disinterested defensive play in Thursday’s 4-3 loss to the visiting Predators.
But the Islanders’ offensive futilities were encapsulated on a late second-period sequence as Beauvillier fed Brock Nelson on a three-on-one rush to the crease. Nedeljkovic made a lunging save at 19:37, then defenseman Robin Salo hit the far post from the left point.
