Canadiens coach tests positive for virus, isolating
MONTREAL » Montreal Canadiens interim coach Dominique Ducharme tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss at least Game 3 of his team’s semifinal series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.
The NHL said Ducharme received a confirmed positive COVID-19 test nine days since receiving his second vaccine dose. No other Canadiens players or members of the Vegas Golden Knights have tested positive.
Ducharme isolated immediately and Game 3 scheduled for Friday night in Montreal was played as scheduled. General manager Marc Bergevin said he doesn’t know how long Ducharme will be out.
“I’ve talked to Dom twice today — he’s doing fine,” Bergevin said. “He’s at home. As far as how long he’s going to be out, we’re dealing with and talking to Health Quebec and also NHL protocols. It’s an ongoing situation, so I can’t tell you how long.”
Assistant Luke Richardson will run Montreal’s bench in Game 3 with assistants Alex Burrows and Sean Burke.
“As of this morning, (Ducharme) was in contact with our coaches,” Bergevin said in French. “He prepared the game plan. And I would say he won’t be in contact between periods, but he’ll definitely be in touch after the game and he’ll prepare the plans for Game 4. He’s at home, but he’s implicated with everything that’s going to happen and the game plan for now.”
Panthers’ Barkov wins Selke
NEW YORK » Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov has won the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward for the first time in his eight-year career.
Barkov was announced as the winner of the award Friday night. He was a finalist for the first time.
The 25-year-old Finn became just the fifth player in league history to win both the Selke and the Lady Byng for gentlemanly conduct. He won the Lady Byng in 2019.
Barkov ranked ninth among forwards averaging just under 21 minutes a game and was 10th in the league with a winning percentage of 54.9 on faceoffs.
Boston center Patrice Bergeron and Vegas winger Mark Stone were the other finalists for the Selke.
‘French Connection’ winger Robert hospitalized
Rene Robert, a retired winger who played on the Buffalo Sabres’ famed “French Connection Line” in the 1970s, was in a Florida hospital on Friday after suffering a heart attack, three people familiar with what happened told The Associated Press.
The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because members of Robert’s family had requested privacy.
The 72-year-old Robert has a home in Florida but maintains numerous ties to Buffalo, where he remains active in charitable endeavors.
Acquired by the Sabres in a trade that sent Eddie Shack to Pittsburgh in 1972, Robert went on to round out one of the most productive lines in NHL history. Robert played right wing alongside center Rick Martin and Hockey Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault on a line that earned its nickname because all three players were from Quebec.