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COVID Protocol Related Absence

Alexander Barabanov Added To COVID Protocol

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The San Jose Sharks will be without Alexander Barabanov for at least the next few days after he was placed in the COVID protocol today. Head coach Bob Boughner confirmed to reporters including Curtis Pashelka of Mercury News that Barabanov did indeed test positive for coronavirus this morning.

He joins Nick Bonino, assistant coach John MacLean, and video coach Dan Darrow in the protocol for the Sharks. It also means that the team is losing another important forward, though Rudolfs Balcers is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow against the New York Rangers. Balcers last played over a month ago and can basically step directly into Barabanov’s spot, though can’t really replace the offense that the 27-year-old Russian has brought since arriving in San Jose.

Acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs after failing to earn a full-time spot, Barabanov ran with the opportunity down the stretch and scored seven points in nine games last season for the Sharks. He signed a new one-year, $1MM deal to return to San Jose and this season has proven to be a reliable top-six option. In 32 games he has 20 points, while averaging nearly 17 minutes a night and also taking a regular shift on the powerplay.

Since he’s positive, he’ll miss at least five days in the protocol. That means at least two games missed and more likely three, as the Sharks play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday and Los Angeles Kings on Monday.

Golden Knights Place Three In COVID Protocol

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Add Vegas to the list of teams that are now missing players due to COVID protocol as the team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Shea Theodore and centers Nicolas Roy and Nolan Patrick have all entered COVID protocol.  Assuming these are for confirmed positive tests, they’ll be out for at least the next five days.

Theodore has been a key part of the back end for the Golden Knights this season and is off to a strong start offensively with 25 points in 35 games.  Roy is also off to a career-best start with 19 points in 35 contests, already surpassing his previous high in points which is a great start to his contract year.  As for Patrick, he only recently returned from an upper-body injury that cost him 29 games and while this is only a short-term setback, he has unfortunately had a lot of setbacks in recent years.

Taking their spots on the active roster for the time being are blueliner Daniil Miromanov, center Jake Leschyshyn, and winger Jonas Rondbjerg.  All three have spent time with Vegas – Leschyshyn playing the most having suited up in 19 games – and will now be called upon for tonight’s game against Toronto.  While Adam Brooks was eligible to be recalled from his conditioning stint in Henderson, they’ve elected to leave him there a little longer.

Snapshots: Eichel, Jones, Stalock

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Jack Eichel was on the ice at practice today for the Vegas Golden Knights, not even two months since undergoing artificial disk replacement surgery. At the time, Eichel was given a three-month recovery timeline and when speaking with the media today, he said he feels like everything is going well.

The recovery to be completely honest was pretty smooth. I was pretty fortunate to be in the hands of Dr. Mark Lindsay and I just let him do what he does best. We had a good plan all along and–knock-on-wood–there weren’t any setbacks. It felt like the first few weeks I was getting used to how I felt, the next few weeks it was like ’okay I’m starting to feel better.’ The last few weeks I feel really good now, I basically feel back to normal. 

With Max Pacioretty out, the Golden Knights have options for how to play the cap when Eichel is ready to return. It could still precipitate a trade of some sort, but suddenly a first-place Vegas squad appears to be close to adding a top-line center to the mix. Eichel hasn’t played since March 7, 2021, but scored 355 points in his first 375 games in the league.

  • When Seth Jones was not available to the media following morning skate, a few eyebrows were raised given the situation. The star defenseman was set to play in Columbus tonight for the first time since the offseason trade, but that now is in jeopardy. Though the team hasn’t officially announced his placement in the COVID protocol yet, he is no longer listed on the Blackhawks official roster and Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports that Jones tested positive for coronavirus. The team is likely waiting for the result to be confirmed, but it looks like Jones may not get to face his old mates after all. (UPDATE: The Blackhawks have officially announced Jones’ placement in the protocol, along with another staff member. He will not play tonight.)
  • Alex Stalock, who has missed the entire season so far with a heart condition, is attempting a comeback according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. He will report to the Bakersfield Condors where he’ll take a physical, but he would need to clear waivers in order to be officially assigned to the minor league club (though a conditioning stint may be possible in this case). The Edmonton Oilers netminder was claimed off waivers last March but still hasn’t actually played for the club. In his career, he has a .909 save percentage in 151 appearances.

Penguins Notes: Malkin, COVID, Recalls

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The day has come for Evgeni Malkin, who will make his season debut for the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight against the Anaheim Ducks. The star center has been out all season rehabbing his knee after offseason surgery but now returns to a Pittsburgh lineup that won ten straight before falling to the Dallas Stars on Saturday.

With 48 games left in the regular season, Malkin will have a chance to climb a little further up the all-time points list. He currently sits 63rd with 1,104, just behind Patrick Kane’s 1,119. Both those names could jump over several impressive names, including former teammate Marian Hossa who is 57th with 1,134. Given Malkin recently said that he wants to play several more seasons, there’s no telling how high he’ll climb before eventually hanging up his skates.

  • Unfortunately, Malkin’s return won’t be the only story of the day for the Penguins. Danton Heinen and Zach Aston-Reese have both tested positive for coronavirus and have entered the league’s COVID protocol. They are out for tonight’s game. Head coach Mike Sullivan explained that Heinen is experiencing symptoms, but Aston-Reese is not. The latter could test out of the protocol after five days, while Heinen will need his symptoms to resolve (and provide a negative test after a minimum of five days) before rejoining his teammates.
  • The interesting part for the Penguins is how they’ll make the financials fit, as they actually don’t have the cap space to activate Malkin from long-term injured reserve without sending someone else down. With Heinen, Aston-Reese, and Casey DeSmith all on the COVID protocol, they’ll first have to get cap compliant before using emergency recalls to fill out a lineup.
  • Moving Jason Zucker to LTIR could solve the issue for now but he too is close to a return. Zucker skated with the club today in a non-contact jersey, but Sullivan explained that his status hasn’t changed and is not ready to return just yet. Given Zucker hasn’t played since December 19, his stint on LTIR could be backdated to allow the Penguins to activate him whenever ready.

Gabriel Landeskog Enters COVID Protocol

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The Colorado Avalanche will be without their captain tonight, as Gabriel Landeskog has tested positive for coronavirus and entered the league’s COVID protocols. Landeskog’s test was confirmed today, according to head coach Jared Bednar, meaning he’ll miss at least five days. The forward is asymptomatic at this point.

Colorado takes on the Seattle Kraken this evening after their thrilling comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. The Avalanche are now 21-8-2 on the season despite starting the year 4-5-1. In fact, they are showing just why many considered them a Stanley Cup contender before the season began, routinely running up big goal numbers against every opponent. The Avalanche have scored at least four goals in 10 of their last 12 games, including 20 in their last four.

Without Landeskog, that becomes a little harder to maintain. The 29-year-old forward has been outstanding this season, scoring 14 goals and 35 points through 26 appearances. It wouldn’t be the first time he has scored at a point-per-game pace, but it’s easily the best offensive pace of his career to this point, one that already spans more than 700 games. For now, that number won’t grow any as he watches his teammates from a hotel room, isolating as he waits to test out of the protocol.

Peter Baugh of The Athletic notes that Jack Johnson and Valeri Nichushkin were both in regular sweaters at morning skate. Landeskog is currently the only Colorado player in the protocol.

West Notes: Hayton, Gostisbehere, Wild, Sharks

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Coyotes center Barrett Hayton is expected to undergo hand surgery that will keep him out for the next five to eight weeks, reports Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports (Twitter link).  It has been a disappointing season for the 21-year-old who has been given a much bigger role than he had under Rick Tocchet but it hasn’t materialized in more production as he has just two goals and four assists in 26 games despite playing over 16 minutes a night.  His entry-level deal expires this summer and being out for this long certainly won’t help him build any value for his next contract.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference:

  • Still with Arizona, Shayne Gostisbehere is a player whose fortunes have changed for the better since being dealt to the desert. After Philadelphia had to part with a pair of draft picks to get the Coyotes to take on the rest of his contract, the 28-year-old has picked up 23 points in 32 games to sit second on the team in scoring.  Despite that, GM Bill Armstrong indicated in an interview with Arizona Sports (audio link) that they’re not particularly anxious to move him even though they may be able to get some value for him.  Gostisbehere is signed through 2022-23 with a $4.5MM AAV.
  • The Wild may soon be getting some more bad news on the injury front as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Jonas Brodin’s upper-body injury is believed to be serious enough to be a long-term issue. He was injured while blocking a shot against Boston on Thursday and leads all Minnesota players in ice time at 23:35 per game.
  • Minnesota should get some good news soon when it comes to their ever-growing injury list, however, as Russo adds in a separate tweet that center Joel Eriksson Ek is ahead of schedule in his recovery from his upper-body injury and could return as soon as Friday. His IR placement earlier today was retroactive and he will still be eligible to play in that game.
  • Meanwhile, as part of a long list of players not playing tonight, the Wild revealed (Twitter link) that defenseman Alex Goligoski has been placed in COVID protocol. He joins Brandon Duhaime and Jordan Greenway as those currently unavailable and if his placement was for a confirmed positive test, he’ll be out for at least the next five days.
  • The Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve added center Nick Bonino along with assistant coach John MacLean to the COVID protocol list. They join center Logan Couture and forward Lane Pederson as those that aren’t available for the time being.

Oilers Place Five Players In COVID Protocol

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Edmonton will be without several players for their next game on Monday against Ottawa as the team announced that wingers Kailer Yamamoto and Brendan Perlini, defensemen Evan Bouchard and Slater Koekkoek, as well as taxi squad goaltender Ilya Konovalov have all entered COVID protocol.  In addition, six members of their support staff have also been placed into protocol.

Yamamoto and Bouchard are the most notable among the new absences.  Yamamoto has been starting to produce more in recent games, collecting six points in his last six games and has been a fixture in Edmonton’s top six for most of the season.  As for Bouchard, his first full NHL season has been a good one as he has notched 19 points in 34 games to lead all Edmonton blueliners in scoring, just ahead of veterans Tyson Barrie and Darnell Nurse.

Assuming the placements are for confirmed positive tests, each player will miss at least the next five days.  They join centers Connor McDavid and Derek Ryan, as well as Barrie, as those that are currently unavailable to COVID protocol.

They won’t be getting any help on the injury front either as Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is at least a week away from resuming on-ice activities due to his lower-body injury. He was placed on IR earlier this week with no definitive timetable for a return.  Meanwhile, Nugent-Bowman adds that defenseman Kris Russell is still another week away from returning from his upper-body injury.  The veteran has missed nearly a month so far.

Penguins Place Bryan Rust And Brock McGinn In COVID Protocol

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The Penguins are looking for their 11th straight victory today against Dallas but they will be without a pair of forwards for this one as the team announced (Twitter link) that wingers Bryan Rust and Brock McGinn have been placed in COVID protocol.  Head coach Mike Sullivan clarified that McGinn tested positive yesterday while Rust tested positive this morning.

Rust has been on quite the hot streak lately, collecting seven goals and four assists in just three games since returning from a lower-body injury so the timing for this news is certainly far from ideal.  McGinn, meanwhile, has been a decent secondary scorer in his first season with Pittsburgh, picking up nine goals in 33 games so far.

The two join forward Drew O’Connor as those currently unavailable to COVID protocol.  As a result of the confirmed positive tests, they will miss at least five days past the date they tested positive which will keep McGinn out for at least the next two games and Rust for the next three.  Pittsburgh does get one player back from COVID protocol today, however, as center Jeff Carter returns after missing the last three contests.

Blackhawks Place Three In COVID Protocol

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Prior to their game tonight against Arizona, the Blackhawks announced a long list of roster moves necessitated by the placement of three players in COVID protocol – defenseman Erik Gustafsson, winger Brandon Hagel, and just-acquired center Sam Lafferty.  That resulted in the promotion of defenseman Nicolas Beaudin from the taxi squad to the active roster plus the recalls of winger Mike Hardman and defenseman Ian Mitchell from AHL Rockford.

Hagel is the most notable loss of the three for Chicago as he has been a capable secondary scorer this season with eight goals and eight assists in 30 games.  Gustafsson has seven points in 30 contests in his second stint with the team while Lafferty was just brought in yesterday in a trade with Pittsburgh.  If the placement is for a confirmed positive test, they will miss at least five days.

While Mitchell has been back and forth this season on the back end, Beaudin hasn’t had much of an opportunity with the Blackhawks this season, playing just once back in November.  The 2018 first-rounder played in 19 games last season and was looking to push for a regular spot but that clearly hasn’t happened.  Meanwhile, Hardman has played in 19 games this year for Chicago, mostly on the fourth line and returns after nearly three weeks in the minors.

Chicago also made three more roster moves, calling up wingers Josiah Slavin and Kurtis Gabriel along with defenseman Jakub Galvas from Rockford to their taxi squad.  That brings the Blackhawks up to five players with that group, the others being veteran winger Brett Connolly and goaltender Cale Morris.

Canadiens, Senators Make COVID Protocol Additions

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3:43 pm: More bad COVID news came for the Senators, as defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker also entered protocol for them Saturday afternoon. With that, they have no extra players on the roster for tonight’s game at the moment.

10:43 am: The calendar has flipped to 2022, but the battle against Coronavirus won’t go away that easy. While the current surge may be producing far more positive results than symptomatic players, the league and its teams will continue to abide by the protocols in place, which will mean more players missing time. The first additions of the new year belong to Atlantic Division and Canadian rivals, the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, both of whom are still scheduled to play on Saturday but will be short-handed.

The Senators have announced that forward Nick Paul and defenseman Dillon Heatherington have been placed in the NHL’s COVID Protocol. While Heatherington himself has been a COVID/injury replacement this year, skating in minimal minutes in nine games, Paul is a major loss for the club. The big forward is having a down year thus far compared to his past two campaigns, but still leaves a hole at center on the Sens’ second line. Ottawa has recalled Clark Bishop and Logan Shaw from the taxi squad to help fill the gap up front, while young Lassi Thomson has been promoted from AHL Belleville to add a body on the blue line.

In Montreal, the Canadiens have placed a pair of young starters in forward Jake Evans and defenseman Alexander Romanov into COVID Protocol. This makes 16 players and one coach unavailable for the Habs due to COVID, yet the team plans to proceed with their game this afternoon. Up against the salary cap, Montreal will have to stick with what they have for healthy players, which is expected to be a lineup of 11 forwards and five defensemen.

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