The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Bruins, Predators make 5 teams shut down past Christmas
The NHL on Saturday shut down the Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators through Christmas, bringing to five the number of teams in COVID-19 limbo. Weekend games for the Canucks and Maple Leafs also were postponed as the league tries to control a spiraling outbreak in its locker rooms.
The NHL and its players association agreed to daily testing and other enhanced protocols to slow the spread of the coronavirus. They will take effect immediately and last at least through Jan. 1, with an evaluation no later than Jan. 7.
“Given the increased number of positive cases in our league within the last two weeks, and changing societal realities with the new omicron COVID-19 variant, the NHLPA and NHL have collectively agreed that all Clubs shall be required to follow enhanced preventative and detection measures,” the league said in a statement.
The Bruins and Predators join Calgary, Colorado and Florida, which already had been shut down through next week because of outbreaks. Saturday night’s game between Toronto and Vancouver and Sunday’s Arizona-Vancouver and Toronto-Seattle games were also postponed amid worsening conditions across North America due to the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Approximately 70 players — 10% of the league — are in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol and the number of games postponed this season has climbed past 20. Several Canadian provinces are now or will soon limit attendance at large events like NHL games to 50% of capacity.
Besides the daily testing for players and coaches, the league said “additional pre-game testing may be implemented, on a case-bycase basis, when a COVID outbreak occurs within a team.”
Moments after the announcement, Detroit placed three players, coach Jeff Blashill and assistant coach Alex Tanguay in the protocol ahead of Saturday night’s home game against New Jersey. The Red Wings have the only player in the league, Tyler Bertuzzi, who is not vaccinated.
The Bruins’ COVID-19 list grew to nine players on Saturday when Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar were placed in the protocol. The team said it has closed its training facilities.
“The Bruins, Predators, Maple Leafs and Canucks organizations have followed, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of their Players, staff and communities at large as set by the NHL, local, state/ provincial and federal agencies,” the league said in a statement.
While postponed games may be rescheduled, all eyes on are the calendar: The NHL plans to allow its players to participate in the Winter Olympics in China in February — unless COVID-19 disruptions prove to be too much.
The NHL has until Jan. 10 to opt out of the Winter Games without financial penalty, but it retains the right to cancel its plans up until players are scheduled to travel to Beijing.
No. 7 UCONN vs. No. 6 LOUISVILLE
When: Sunday, 3:30 p.m.
What: Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Showcase
Where: Mohegan Sun Arena
Records: UConn (6-2), Louisville (9-1)
TV: ESPN
Radio: UConn Sports Network
KEEP AN EYE ON
Only eight healthy players: The Huskies are left with just eight healthy players following Mir McLean’s decision to enter the transfer portal Monday. UConn will work with three available guards in seniors Evina Westbrook and Christyn Williams and freshman Caroline Ducharme until after the Christmas break when both Nika Mühl (foot) and Azzi Fudd (foot) are expected to return.
UConn’s frontcourt will continue to run through Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Dorka Juhász and Aaliyah Edwards with freshman Amari DeBerry and sophomore Piath Gabriel also available.
DeBerry was impactful in her collegiate debut at Georgia Tech (four points, three rebounds). And with McLean gone, it’s likely Gabriel will get more minutes as the eighth option. Gabriel has played in just one game (two minutes against Minnesota) so far this season.
Continuation of Saturday’s lineup: Against UCLA last Saturday, UConn coach Geno Auriemma debuted a new lineup with Juhász starting in place of Edwards and Ducharme earning her first collegiate start.
The combination worked well as the five starters finished with 68 of UConn’s 71 points and brought down 37 rebounds (more than any of UConn’s previous starting lineups have totaled so far this season). Juhász had her best UConn game yet, finishing with 16 points and 16 rebounds, while the four other starters also finished in double figures in scoring. Ducharme played a career-high 32 minutes and tied her careerhigh of 14 points.
With Edwards still struggling to get things going offensively this season, it’s likely Auriemma will stay with this new lineup until he gets Fudd and Mühl back.
Scouting Louisville: The Cardinals are 9-1 this season with their lone loss coming against then-ranked No. 22 Arizona, 61-59 in overtime, in their season opener. Since then, Louisville has won nine straight with its biggest win over thenranked No. 9 Michigan, 70-48.
Louisville has the No. 4 best scoring defense in the country, holding opponents to 46.7 points per game (UConn is averaging 70.2 points per game). Redshirt senior guard Kianna Smith leads the Cardinals with 12.3 points per game with senior forward Emily Engstler leading with 9.1 rebounds per game.
The Huskies are 17-2 all-time against Louisville. The Cardinals last win against UConn was on January 31, 2019 when the then-ranked No. 3 Cardinals defeated a No. 2 ranked UConn, 78-69, in Kentucky.