Sharks’ game postponed due to virus

The Sharks avoided issues with coronavirus for more than 40 straight days on the road to start the season.

But they couldn’t make it through a week at home.

Center Tomas Hertl appeared on the NHL’s COVID19 protocol list Wednesday shortly after the league announced San Jose’s scheduled home game against Vegas on Thursday was postponed. The Sharks abruptly called off practice, and the team’s facility, Solar4America Ice at San Jose, will remain closed until further notice.

“Despite having only one player currently impacted, the decision to cancel the team’s practice and training activities on Wednesday, and postpone the game on Thursday was made out of an abundance of caution,” the Sharks said in a statement.

Neither the league nor the Sharks said why Hertl was added to the list. Included on the league’s reasons for “COVID Protocol Related Absences” are a positive test, symptoms that might lead to a positive test, highrisk contact with someone who might be positive, or the need to be quarantined after traveling.

The league is working to revise the schedule for San Jose, which opened what was to be an eightgame homestand with a 62 loss to Minnesota on Monday, and is still set to host St. Louis on Saturday.

The decision to postpone Vegas’ second visit to San Jose in 12 days had a trickledown effect on the Sharks’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Barracuda, as Thursday’s game against Bakersfield at Solar4America Ice at San Jose was postponed.

Hertl, who has six goals and 11 points in 17 games, is the first Sharks player to appear on the COVID list since forward Max Letunov, who began the season on the list after traveling from Europe to Arizona for training camp in late December. He was cleared within days and was assigned to the Barracuda.

It marks the second time San Jose’s schedule has changed when Vegas was the scheduled opponent. After playing their first eight on the road, the Sharks were set to “host” the Golden Knights on Feb. 1 and 3, but the games were going to be played at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., because Santa Clara County restrictions prohibiting contact sports only recently had been lifted.

The twogame set then was postponed after Vegas was shut down because of coronavirus issues among players and staff, including head coach Pete DeBoer. A revised schedule along with the lifting of Santa Clara County’s restrictions allowed San Jose to host Vegas at SAP Center on Feb. 13.

The Knights’ 31 win followed the Sharks’ seasonopening trip that was extended to a leaguerecord 12 games as a result of the revised schedule. The second rescheduled Vegas game was to be played Thursday.

The pandemic has forced the league to postpone 37 games during a shortened regular season when all teams are trying to complete a 56game schedule by May 8. The Sharks are the 27th of the NHL’s 31 teams to have had a player in COVID19 protocol since the season began.

Eight players, including four on the Flyers’ roster, were in COVID19 protocol as of Wednesday.