Having players entering the COVID-19 protocol shortly before a road trip is set to begin never is ideal. It becomes far less ideal when said trip includes a trip across the border into Canada.
That’s the Boston Bruins’ reality at the moment.
The Bruins currently have three players in the COVID-19 protocol, with Brad Marchand and Craig Smith getting added Tuesday, while Patrice Bergeron was added Wednesday. The Bruins are scheduled to play their next three games on the road, facing the New York Islanders on Thursday, the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.
It remains to be seen if those games even will be played in the first place. The Bruins were scheduled to leave for Montreal straight from New York on Thursday night, but altering that plan has since been kicked around.
“I know we’ve discussed staying in New York Thursday after the game instead of going right to Montreal,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters Wednesday. “So that if we test and somebody does pop, they’re in New York, they can get back here a lot easier than if they were in Montreal. That has been discussed, but (as far as) going to Canada, I’m not aware that we’re not going.”
Getting stuck in Canada would cause a massive headache, as any player who tests positive for COVID-19 while in Canada has to quarantine there for two weeks. That would mean a Bruins player not only would be unavailable to the team, but also stuck in a hotel room in Canada during Christmas.
Like everything else, this is a constantly evolving situation, so time will tell.
