Outbreak puts B’s on ice for 2 games
Four more players enter NHL’s COVID protocol list
The Bruins’ 2021 season took another detour on Friday when the NHL announced that four additional Bruins entered the league’s COVID protocol list, postponing their next two games.
Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci, Craig Smith and David Pastrnak were added to the list on Friday. Sean Kuraly had tested positive on Thursday and all the players and team personnel were re-tested in the middle of the day, with the negative results allowing Thursday’s game to continue, coach Bruce Cassidy said prior to Thursday’s game.
DeBrusk had been placed on the list last Saturday, March 13 but had subsequently produced enough negative tests to be reinstated and he only missed that one game against the Rangers.
All the players added to the list on Friday figured prominently in the B’s 4-1 win on Thursday. DeBrusk, Krejci and Smith formed the team’s second line against the Sabres. DeBrusk and Smith scored goals while Krejci produced three assists in the game. Pastrnak also scored his team-leading 14th goal.
The B’s had planned to practice in Buffalo on Friday, but that was scrapped with the news of the new players being placed on the list. A player can land on the list because of a positive test, close contact with an infected peson and/or COVID symptoms. The team’s media availability was also canceled.
The B’s were scheduled to play in Buffalo tonight and the New York Islanders on Tuesday at the Garden, which was set to be the first game where fans would have been allowed in the building in more than a year.
The Bruins have been playing in front of a limited number of fans on the road since Madison Square Garden opened its doors on Feb. 26. Fans were present at both games in Pittsburgh and Thursday’s contest in Buffalo.
Pending test results in the coming days, the B’s will be allowed to re-open their Brighton practice facilities on Wednesday.
A release from the league said: “The Bruins organization has, and will continue to follow all the recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of its players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, local, state and national agencies.”
The Bruins have been on the road since flying to Pittsburgh last Sunday and flew to Buffalo after Tuesday’s game in Pittsburgh, with a day off for players on Wednesday.
The B’s had two players previously enter the COVID protocol list earlier this month, Charlie Coyle and DeBrusk. Like DeBrusk, Coyle was deemed, after subsequent testing, to have produced a false positive and missed one game.
Other teams have continued playing with as many or more players on the protocols list but in those cases — most notably in that of the Washington Capitals, who had four players caught breaking protocols by socializing in a hotel room — the league was confident that there was no danger of an outbreak. The league does not yet have the same confidence in the Bruins’ case that a further outbreak could be stopped without the shutdown measure it has taken.
Presuming the B’s are allowed to resume play on Thursday against the Islanders, they will have to play 28 games in 45 days, unless the league pushes out the B’s May 8 end-of-season date.
From a purely hockey standpoint, the B’s have been finding it hard to gain traction in their injury-marred season over the past monthplus. When they beat the lowly Sabres on Thursday, it was the first time since February 10 and 12 that they had won consecutive games. And while that run of futility has been mostly due to the aforementioned injuries and inconsistent performances, the COVID situation that still looms over all facets of our lives hasn’t helped. Coyle has been struggling to get his offense going all season and, after it looked like he broke out of it with a two-goal on February 28, he was held out of the next game — a 2-1 shootout loss to the Capitals — for what turned out to be a false positive test result. The same was true for DeBrusk, who snapped a long scoreless streak with a goal against the Rangers on March 11, only to be a scratch for the next game — a woeful loss to the Rangers on March 13.