Vancouver Canucks players celebrate their win against Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Canucks report no new positive COVID-19 tests amid outbreak

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 4/8/21

The Vancouver Canucks may finally be emerging from the NHL's worst COVID-19 outbreak of the 2020-21 season.

TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger tweeted on Thursday that the Canucks did not report a new positive coronavirus test on Wednesday night.

For the first time in days, no positive case results with the Canucks in Vancouver last night.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) April 8, 2021

Earlier on Wednesday, the Canucks confirmed that 18 active players, three players from the taxi squad and four staff members had tested positive amid the outbreak that has kept them sidelined since a loss to the Winnipeg Jets on March 24. TSN adds that it's hoped Vancouver can return to play at the end of next week.

The entire Canucks team remains in isolation. It was previously reported the NHL was assuming "everyone" among the club's traveling party would ultimately test positive for a COVID-19 variant.

Vancouver sits fifth in the NHL North standings with 35 points, eight points behind the Montreal Canadiens in the race for the division's final playoff berth. It's practically guaranteed the Canucks will have played the fewest games among divisional opponents by the time they restart the season.

Publicly, the NHL has thus far insisted the Canucks can still complete their full 56-game regular-season schedule despite the lengthy pause.

Zac Wassink is a football and futbol aficionado who is a PFWA member and is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment. Erik Lamela and Eli Manning apologist. Chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. Whoops. You can find him on Twitter at @ZacWassink.

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