NHL Metropolitan

The NHL has postponed all New York Islanders games through at least Nov. 30 under its COVID-19 protocols. 

Per an announcement from the league, the Islanders currently have up to eight players unavailable to play after another player entered protocol on Saturday:

Josh Bailey returned to the ice for practice on Friday after being quarantined, but he didn't play against the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Bailey, Adam Pelech, Andy Greene, Anthony Beauvillier, Anders Lee and Ross Johnston are the New York players who were already in COVID protocols before Chara. 

The NHL's announcement means that at least Sunday's game against the New York Rangers and Tuesday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers have been postponed. 

No makeup dates for those games has been announced at this point. 

New York's next game on the schedule is against the San Jose Sharks on Dec. 2 at UBS Arena. 

The Islanders have lost eight consecutive games with a shorthanded roster amid their ongoing COVID-19 issues. They are 5-10-2 overall and have the joint-second-fewest points (12) of any team in the Eastern Conference.   

Michael McNiff, a bar owner and resident of Wantagh, New York, on Long Island, was getting ready to go to a New York Islanders game at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum about 10 or so years ago, maybe more. He can't quite remember. A friend had invited him to the game, and as an "Islanders nut" and "anti-Rangers guy," he didn't refuse tickets.

As with many sports, there are rituals and routines that are performed prior to going to games. If you're a Long Islander, you probably know some of these well: the line of cars that snakes around to the Long Island Turnpike, drinks at the Marriott across the street, gatherings of friends wearing orange and blue in the parking lot.

It's quite a scene. Tailgates in front of the old barn looked and felt more like NFL games than NHL games. It was a spectacle visible from the Turnpike. The morning after games, several cars typically remained.

But this time, McNiff saw nothing. No cars, no crowds and only a few lonely business travelers inside the Marriott bar.

"He picks me up, we pull into the Coliseum and the Coliseum is empty," McNiff told Bleacher Report while sitting in his bar, The Irish Poet. "It turns out they were on the road."

The fact that the Islanders weren't even playing at home that night is fitting for this franchise. Home has been a relative term for the Islanders in recent years. There was the stint in Brooklyn at Barclays Center, which was built for basketball and made for a terrible hockey experience, with bad ice and an off-center scoreboard. There was a split schedule that had the team playing in Brooklyn and at the Coliseum. The 2021-22 season started with a 13-game road trip. There were threats of relocation to a city outside of New York.

But finally, the Islanders will return home Saturday, opening their brand-new, state-of-the-art building in Elmont, New York, called UBS Arena. It's a privately financed, 690,000-square-foot arena built with hockey as the priority. It's not far from the old barn, and inside it looks like a grown-up version with many of the same qualities of the Coliseum, including the ceiling, which is only three feet higher at UBS.

But the new building might as well be a world apart in terms of amenities.

So how do you bridge the gap between a building opened in 1972 and one in 2021? You use the fans.

Section 329 has been leading cheers at the Coliseum and Barclays Center for decades. They are vocal, they are visible and they even have a song about Josh Bailey (it's literally called "The Josh Bailey Song").

They are impossible to miss, and it's impossible not to join the fun. So naturally, the team consulted with them when designing and building UBS.

"They're the heartbeat of the crowd," said Brendan Burke, the Islanders' play-by-play announcer on MSG Networks and one of the voices of the NHL on TNT. "All of the cheers and chants that are a constant throughout the game generate from that section. They're very involved in the atmosphere. When you talk about the atmosphere of the Coliseum, it's not the building. It's the people. And that section certainly has a lot to do with getting everybody to join in on the party."

The Blue and Orange Army are a fan group that called Section 329 of the Coliseum home for many years. They chose 329 because it was right in front of where Bobby Nystrom scored the game-winner in the 1980 Stanley Cup Final. There is no 300 level in the new barn, but there will be a Section 329 just for them. There are other fan groups with different names, but they all join forces once the puck drops to create an atmosphere that is unique to Long Island.

It started in 2009, when James Fesselmeyer, a 39-year-old lifelong Babylon native, moved over to that section from 318. A fan of Liverpool FC, he had recently been to a game against Manchester United at Anfield and was inspired by the chants and songs prevalent in soccer.

"When I went out there, I was like, 'We should do this. We could do this,'" Fesselmeyer said. "That supporter section is about love and passion and cheering on the team and doing it in a fun way."

The Islanders opened the old barn in 1972. It's still there. It never really closed. It may never. It's a relic.

And much of it never really changed, either. The narrow concourses, the bathrooms the size of phone booths, the low ceilings and the smoking section were as synonymous with the rink as the banners that hung from that low ceiling.

The ceiling.

I asked several Isles fans at a Blue and Orange Army viewing party at The Irish Poet what they most remembered about the Coliseum. It was the ceiling. It felt as though it was going to come off when Bryan Trottier, Clark Gillies, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin and Pat LaFontaine scored goals. In recent years, we all looked up to make sure it was still there when Anders Lee or Bailey crashed the net to set up game-winning goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Unfortunately, the ceiling was also covered in asbestos and leaked frequently.

"It was a dive. It was falling down. But it was fun," McNiff said. "It might have been a dive, but it was our dive."

Times changed and renovations took place, but walking into the place always felt like a time warp. It might as well have been 1983, the last year the Isles won a Stanley Cup.

"Nobody forgot their roots," said Blue and Orange Army member Craig Richardson. "It's always been that way."

But NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters in 2017 that the dilapidated arena wasn't up to snuff. Brooklyn seemed like a suitable solution since a decent portion of the fanbase was already commuting to the city daily, but some fans refused to make the trek.

It wasn't home. Long Island is home. Long Island is where they wanted to be. When you go to games in Long Island, you see your neighbors, your friends, your kids' friends, fellow PTA members, your plumber, your accountant and your bar buddies.

It's just different in Brooklyn. The community feel was gone.

"The Islanders are like the Green Bay Packers of the NHL," Burke said. As a Wisconsin native, he would know. "It's not in downtown Milwaukee. It's in Green Bay, Wisconsin. There is no downtown Long Island. It's a series of communities. So it really is a team that belongs to the community, and it's something the people there really take ownership of. And they should. The Islanders and Long Island are kind of inseparable. They are a part of the identity of the island, and the island is part of the identity of the islander.

"It's a pretty cool phenomenon to have all of these people who feel as involved as they are."

Richardson, Fesselmeyer and the other members of the Blue and Orange Army at the watch party exemplify that. But McNiff does especially.

A native of Ireland, he came to New York in the 1980s to work in the bar business. He ran another bar and restaurant, The Wantagh Inn, for many years, and there were players, coaches and other Islanders staffers who would drop in from time to time. He knows what the team means to the community, and he's felt the excitement since they broke ground in Elmont.

The new arena is the only one in the New York market that was built specifically for hockey. There is a 23,000 square-foot locker room and player campus complex. The scoreboard is the largest of any arena in New York. It seats 17,000 for hockey and up to 19,000 for concerts and features outdoor terraces, lounges, clubs, eight ice-facing bars and 56 luxury boxes, which is an increase from the Coliseum but fewer than you'll find in most modern arenas. This one was built with a social fan experience in mind.

As for the bathrooms, UBS Arena boasts more of them per person than any other arena in the area—and yes, they are much larger than the ones in the Coliseum!

There was input from head coach Barry Trotz, general manager Lou Lamoriello and even the fans in 329. 

"It's like a new lease on life," McNiff said. "It's the perfect time. This is what we need. The outrage when they went to Brooklyn showed. Everybody was upset. But people are excited. And it's 15-20 minutes from here. What more do you want?!"

The only thing the Islanders and their fans have ever wanted is a home they could be proud of. After all these years, they finally have one in UBS Arena.

The Fenway Sports Group, led by John Henry, is reportedly nearing an agreement to purchase a controlling stake in the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico.

Current owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle would be selling the majority of the team, although Lemieux reportedly plans to keep a minority stake, per Dejan Kovacevic of DK Pittsburgh Sports.

Fenway Sports Group currently owns the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool FC and Roush Fenway Racing among other ventures.

Henry has a net worth of $3.6 billion, per Forbes, while the group has other prominent investors including NBA star LeBron James and record executive Jimmy Iovine.

They can buy in to a franchise that has been one of the most successful in the NHL over the past few decades.

The Penguins have won five Stanley Cup titles in their history, including three since 2009. The team has made the playoffs in each of the last 15 seasons entering 2021-22.

Sportico listed the organization as the 15th most valuable in the NHL at $845 million, though Soshnick and Novy-Williams noted the Penguins led the league in local market ratings share last season. The team also sold out 633 straight games over a span of 14 seasons.

Lemieux, who spent 17 years playing for the Penguins and is the franchise's all-time goal-scoring leader with 690 in his career, could help keep some of the local flavor even after the sale.     

Alex Ovechkin, one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history, passed St. Louis Blues legend and Hall of Famer Brett Hull for fourth on the league's all-time goals scored list when he notched his 742nd goal Friday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

Ovechkin had tied Hull for fourth on the list on Monday in a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres and moved past fifth-place Marcel Dionne in Washington's season opener. He is now just 24 goals shy of tying Pittsburgh Penguins great Jaromir Jagr (766 career goals) for the third spot on the list. 

Edmonton Oilers legend Wayne Gretzky (894 goals) and Detroit Red Wings great Gordie Howe (801 goals) still lead the list. 

Ovechkin, 36, signed a five-year deal with the Capitals during the offseason, so he could very well challenge Howe for the second spot on the list. He is out to a hot start this season with 12 goals and 11 assists after being limited to a career-worst 24 goals during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season.

Depending on how long he continues playing, the nine-time Rocket Richard winner could also potentially challenge Gretzky to become the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer, which no one ever thought would be possible. Gretzky has been the NHL's leading scorer since 1994, when he tallied his 802 goal to pass Howe. 

The Capitals drafted Ovechkin first overall in 2004, and he began his career with 15 consecutive 30-plus goal seasons. He has tallied 50-plus goals eight times in his 17-year career and notched a career-high 65 goals during the 2007-08 season. 

The Moscow native is a Stanley Cup champion, 12-time All-Star and three-time Hart Trophy winner in addition to being a nine-time Rocket Richard winner. He also won the 2007-08 Art Ross Trophy, the 2005-06 Calder Trophy and the 2017-18 Conn Smythe Trophy.  

Former Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash will become the first player in Columbus franchise history to have his number retired, the team announced Thursday. 

Nash's No. 61 will be placed in the rafters before a March 5 matchup against the Boston Bruins. 

"Rick Nash was the face of our franchise and our best player for a decade and represented our club on and off the ice with excellence, class and humility," Blue Jackets majority owner John P. McConnell said in a release. "No one is more deserving of this honor than he and we are looking forward to celebrating Rick and his family in what will be a historic and memorable night for all of us on March 5th."

The Blue Jackets selected Nash first overall in 2002 and he played for the team through the 2011-12 season. He served as the team's captain from 2008-12 and is Columbus' all-time leader in games (674), goals (289), assists (258) and points (547). 

Nash had seven 30-plus goal seasons in his Blue Jackets career and signed two contracts that tied him to the franchise for 13 years. He represented Columbus in five NHL All-Star Games and won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league's top goal scorer during the 2003-04 season.

In addition to playing for the Blue Jackets, Nash also spent time with the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. The 37-year-old tallied 145 goals and 107 assists in 375 games for the Blueshirts. He was traded to the Bruins during the 2017-18 season and appeared in 11 games for the club, scoring three goals and adding three assists. 

In 1,060 career games, the Ontario native tallied 437 goals and 368 assists for 805 points. He added 18 goals and 28 assists in 89 playoff games. 

Nash announced his retirement from the NHL in 2019 after 15 seasons because of "unresolved issues/symptoms" from a concussion. He returned to the Blue Jackets as a special advisor to general manager Jarmo Kekalainen in 2019 and was named director of player development in June 2021.  

The Pittsburgh Penguins have agreed to a settlement in the lawsuit involving sexual assault allegations against Clark Donatelli, who was formerly the head coach of the AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. 

The organization issued a statement on Tuesday announcing the settlement resolves "all claims" from the lawsuit:

Per Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jarrod Skale, a former assistant on Donatelli's coaching staff, and his wife, Erin Skalde, filed a civil lawsuit against the Penguins. 

Erin Skalde said Donatelli sexually assaulted her on on Nov. 11, 2018, while the team was on a road trip in Providence, Rhode Island. The Skaldes' lawsuit also alleged the the Penguins fired Jarrod for reporting the sexual assault allegations. 

Donatelli originally took over as head coach of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an interim basis early in the 2015-16 season after Mike Sullivan was hired as Pittsburgh's head coach to replace Mike Johnston. 

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took the interim tag off Donatelli at the end of the 2015-16 season. The team announced on June 28, 2019, the 55-year-old resigned his position "due to personal reasons."

Jarrod Skalde remained with the Penguins through the 2019-20 American Hockey League season on new head coach Mike Vellucci's staff. He was fired by the team on May 5. 

Jarrod Skalde filed two lawsuits against the Penguins due to the allegations, both of which have now been settled, according to Mike DeFabo of the Post-Gazette. 

Per Vensel, the first lawsuit was filed in November 2020 in U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania, with Skalde stating in the lawsuit that then-Wilkes Barre/Scranton general manager Bill Guerin told him to "stay quiet" about the alleged assault. 

Guerin, who is currently the Minnesota Wild general manager, denied the accusation.    

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin continues to work his way up the NHL record books.

With a goal in the second period of Monday's game against the Buffalo Sabres, Ovechkin tied Brett Hull for fourth place on the all-time goals list. It was his 11th goal of the season and 741st of his career.

Ovechkin now sits behind Jaromir Jagr (766), Gordie Howe (801) and Wayne Gretzky (894). The 36-year-old Russian has showed no signs of slowing down.

Entering Monday's game, Ovechkin (11) was tied with Edmonton Oilers left winger Leon Draisaitl (10) for the league lead in goals. He was third in total points (18) behind Draisaitl (23) and Oilers center Connor McDavid (22), and he had the outright lead in shots on goal with eight more than any other player.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 draft, Ovechkin is regarded as one of the best players in NHL history. He's a three-time Hart Trophy winner as the league's MVP. The 11-time All-Star has also won the Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer nine times, including each of the past three seasons.

Ovechkin has spent his entire 17-year career in Washington. He helped lead the Capitals to the Stanley Cup title in 2018. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP that year.

The Capitals were on a three-game losing streak prior to Monday's game against Buffalo. Washington will have a few days off before returning to action on Thursday in a road matchup against the Detroit Red Wings.

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that head coach Mike Sullivan will not be on the bench for Thursday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers because of COVID-19 protocols.

With Sullivan out, assistant Todd Reirden will serve as the Pens' head coach for the Metropolitan Division contest.

Additionally, captain Sidney Crosby is in COVID-19 protocols following a positive test. Defensemen Brian Dumoulin, Chad Ruhwedel and Marcus Pettersson are also in COVID-19 protocols, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

With Evgeni Malkin having missed the entire season because of injury and Crosby having appeared in only one game, the Penguins are off to a slow start in 2021-22.

Through eight games, the Pens are 3-3-2, which leaves them in last place in the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division (the New York Islanders have eight points but in one fewer game).

The 53-year-old Sullivan is in the midst of his seventh season as head coach of the Penguins after previously serving as head coach of his hometown Boston Bruins for two seasons.

All told, Sullivan owns a 254-134-45 version in Pittsburgh and has led the team to the playoffs in each of the past six seasons.

The Penguins have not made it out of the first round of the playoffs in the past four seasons, but they did win the Stanley Cup in each of Sullivan's first two seasons at the helm.

Sullivan's absence is softened by the fact that Reirden brings some experience to the table.

Reirden spent five seasons in the NHL as a defenseman and has been a coach since 2007, including with the Pens from 2010-14. He served as the head coach of the Washington Capitals for two seasons from 2018-20, compiling an 89-46-16 record.