Monday marked nine straight days on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list for Noah Dobson, with no timetable for the defenseman to return to the Islanders’ lineup.
But there will be question marks for the 20-year-old Dobson even when he is eventually cleared.
Long-term data on the effects of the disease is still being compiled. The Islanders are not able to publicly confirm whether Dobson tested positive but that seems clear by this point.
“Yeah, you’re right, we don’t know enough about it,” coach Barry Trotz said. “We have to go with the science on this and all the protocols on returning…in place from the NHL in terms of the heart monitoring and ramping up.”
Dobson missed his fifth consecutive game as the Islanders concluded a three-game series with the Flyers in Philadelphia and is the team’s only player to be sidelined because of COVID-19 this season.
Trotz said the Islanders will not rush the process once Dobson is cleared from the protocol list.
“All those protocols will be followed,” Trotz said. “We have some skating tests, we have all those things where we feel a guy can get back. We don’t know enough about this so we’ll just have to go with the science.
“We’re not going to put a player in any kind of danger at any point.”
Isles files
Defenseman Thomas Hickey was in the lineup for the second straight game after notching two assists in Saturday’s 6-1 win over the Flyers, his first NHL game since May 3, 2019. “A true pro,” Josh Bailey said. “I think every guy in that room was slightly emotional…” Goalie Cory Schneider, who took a leave of absence after his 14-year-old nephew was killed in a Maine house fire on Feb. 24, was back on the active roster and a healthy scratch.
