Flames have three games postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak
The Calgary Flames have become the latest team to have to postpone games because of a COVID-19 outbreak after adding six players and a staff member into the league's health and safety protocol.
The team announced that forwards Elias Lindholm, Andrew Mangiapane, Brad Richardson and Adam Ruzicka and defensemen Chris Tanev and Nikita Zadorov were added to the protocol on Monday. The staff member added to the protocol was not disclosed.
Calgary was set to play a road back-to-back this week against the Blackhawks and Predators before returning home to host the Maple Leafs.
Calgary isn't the first club to have games postponed because of an outbreak in the dressing room. The New York Islanders had to postpone two games at the end of November because eight players had positive tests. Prior to that, the Ottawa Senators had three games postponed after a whopping 10 players entered the protocol over a weekend.
The San Jose Sharks had the first big outbreak of the NHL season after they placed seven players and three staff members, including head coach Bob Boughner, in the protocol in early November. None of San Jose's games were postponed, including an afternoon tilt against the Winnipeg Jets scheduled just a couple of hours after news of the outbreak broke.
The layoff could actually be good for the Flames, which are clutching on to their spot in third place in the Western Conference after dropping four straight games. Head coach Darryl Sutter blamed the losses on goaltending following Calgary's most recent defeat, a 4-2 loss to the Boston Bruins.
Calgary's next game is slated for Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
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