Bruins notebook: NHL shortens isolation period for COVID

As expected, the Bruins got one more player back from COVID protocol on Wednesday and they very well could be at full strength by the time their season is re-started on New Year’s Day.

That is thanks to new guidelines that came down from the NHL on Wednesday in light of the new recommendations from Centers for Disease Control on Monday that dropped the isolation period for those who test positive from 10 days to five.

Under the new guidelines agreed upon by NHL and the NHLPA, vaccinated players who had tested positive could get out of protocol after five days if the player has no symptoms or “symptoms are resolving,” provided that player tests out and gets clearance from the club’s physician.

Another caveat is that “such exit is permitted by your local healthy authority.” As of the moment , Canadian health officials had not dropped the isolation period from 10 days.

After the Bruins got defenseman Brandon Carlo back in the fold on Wednesday, Charlie Coyle remains the only Bruin in protocol. He entered protocol on Dec. 26, which means he could conceivably rejoin the team for Friday’s practice and, depending on his fitness level, be in the lineup for Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres at the Garden.

Having just heard the news when he was speaking to reporters, coach Bruce Cassidy wasn’t exactly sure if he’d be able to get Coyle back. But it certainly sounds like this is welcome development for both the players and management. Cam Neely and Brad Marchand have both talked about the league needing to learn to live with COVID, especially now that many of the Omicron variant cases are causing either mild or no symptoms in players.

Taylor Hall, who had been in protocol from Dec.18-27 despite being asymptomatic, was also hopeful that the regulations could be adjusted.

“That was frustrating to have to take time off and not be able to come to the rink, etc.,” said Hall on Tuesday. “Hopefully we can start moving along with COVID. I don’t think we’re going to move past it but we have to accept that this is going to be a part of our lives and hopefully guys like me don’t have to miss 10 days of action when we don’t have any symptoms.”

B’s need a bump from Haula

While Coyle’s availability is up in the air right now, Erik Haula has been centering Hall and Craig Smith. Much of Haula’s season has been a disappointment so far. The 30-year-old forward, who signed a two-year deal with the B’s in the offseason for $2.375 million a season, has 1-4-5 totals in 25 games.

After being a healthy scratch on Nov. 28 against the Canucks, he was moved to wing and there was a noticeable jump to his game, though that did not result in a gold rush of production.

Cassidy feels that, like several of his forwards, Haula had recently been a victim of bad luck around the net, pointing to a goal called back for an offsides.

Despite Haula’s improved play on the wing, Cassidy had not yet come to the determination that he’s better off there instead of center for the long haul.

“He’s played a lot of center in his career. I just think (wing) allows him more freedom to work down low,” said Cassidy. “When you’re a centerman, you have to cover 200 feet of ice so there’s a little bit of that mindset of getting out the offensive zone, so there’s some uncertainty. It seemed to free him up a little more. Some guys handle that well, other guys prefer to be in the middle. When we discussed it, he was fine being on the wing. That’s what a coach wants to hear, that ‘wherever I can help the team’ mentality. That’s a plus, obviously. We saw a little bit of better results on the wing for whatever reason. It might just be he’s been a good player in this league, has been for a while and he was going to come around no matter where we play him…We may get Charlie back so that would push him back (to the wing). At the end of the day, he’ll play wherever he’s slotted in and right now he feels like his game is coming around. That always helps, to play with some confidence. That’s what we hope to see going forward.”

Smith is another player who could use a bump I production. He has just two goals in 19 games, but hopes that the break will be beneficial for the whole team.

“There’s so much ground ahead of us. I think we just need to make sure we stay healthy from here on out, just taking care of our bodies. This week was almost good in that we can ramp back up,” said Smith..

The first Bruin to go into protocol back on Dec. 13, Smith did have some symptoms, including a cough and chills.

“It was more like a sinus infection,” said Smith.

B’s-Habs rescheduled

The Bruins-Canadiens game scheduled for March 21 the Garden will now be played on Jan. 12. Tickets bought for the March game will be honored on Jan. 12, when the game was originally scheduled to be played in Montreal but was postponed because of COVID issues. …

Cassidy said that Linus Ullmark will get the start against his former team on Saturday and Jeremy Swayman will get the call on Sunday in Detroit.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3FEoAzb