Four Ducks enter COVID-19 protocol, game in jeopardy
The Ducks’ roller-coaster ride of a season continued Tuesday, with four of their players placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list less than 24 hours before the team was scheduled to play the Wild at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Danton Heinen, Ben Hutton, Jacob Larsson and Anthony Stolarz were added to the list a little after 2 p.m. The four were quarantined at the Ducks’ hotel in the Twin Cities and kept away from their teammates, in accordance with the league’s protocol.
The Ducks canceled their practice and media session via Zoom on Tuesday. Today’s nationally televised game against the Wild was expected to be played as scheduled, but that could change in the hours before the 2:30 p.m. faceoff.
Ducks players and coaches were unavailable for comment Tuesday afternoon.
It wasn’t immediately certain whether Heinen, Hutton, Larsson and Stolarz tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday or why they were placed on the league’s list of unavailable players. A positive test is just one of several reasons a player can be placed on the list, including due to contact tracing or traveling on a commercial flight.
Testing was due to be performed again today before the game.
Heinen, a right wing, has been in and out of the Ducks’ lineup recently, as the team has struggled to win games. The Ducks are 9-18-6 and in last place in the eight-team West Division. They’re also in 30th place overall in the 31-team league.
Hutton and Larsson formed a defense pair for much of the season. Stolarz has been on the taxi squad for most of 2020-21, but has served as Ryan Miller’s backup after No. 1 goalie John Gibson was sidelined by a lower body injury last week.
Miller was expected to start today for the sixth consecutive game, if the game is actually played. He could be backed up by Lukas Dostal, a 20-yearold from the Czech Republic who has been on the taxi squad since Gibson was injured. Dostal has made 12 starts with the Ducks’ AHL team, the San Diego Gulls, going 5-7-0.
A third goalie would have to replace Dostal on the taxi squad, per league rules.
The Ducks are in the midst of a five-game trip that began with a 2-1 loss Monday to the Wild. They’re scheduled to face the Wild again today, then play the Blues on Friday and Sunday in St. Louis before completing their trip with a game Monday against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. Their next home game is April 2 against the Arizona Coyotes.
Until Tuesday, the Ducks were one of the few teams in the league without anyone having been placed on the protocol list or without any games postponed because of an opponent’s outbreak. Several of the Ducks’ games earlier this season were rescheduled to accommodate opponents with players on the list, however.
Only once this season had a game involving the Ducks been in jeopardy, after Tomas Nosek of the Vegas Golden Knights tested positive for COVID-19 and was removed from a Nov. 9 game at T-Mobile Arena. The rematch two nights later was played as scheduled.
A total of 38 games have been postponed since the pandemic-delayed 56-game season began Jan. 13, including Monday’s game between the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers after two Canadiens were placed on the COVID-19 protocol list.
The league then shut down all Canadiens activities through Sunday as they became the latest team to be sidelined for an extended period, joining the Golden Knights, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils.
Boston was expected to be sidelined at least through Tuesday.