NHL postpones Saturday's Canucks-Senators contest due to attendance restrictions
Gogolev withdraws from Canadian figure skating championships after testing positive
The latest sports news:
- Senators-Canucks postponed
- Positive test forces Gogolev out of Canadian figure skating championships
- Yamamoto joins McDavid, other Oilers in protocol
- Maple Leafs add Marner, Engvall to protocol
- Canadiens up to 24 players in protocol
- WHL suspends activities for 15 teams, postpones 8 games
- OHL rejigs schedule
- Raptors add replacement player
The NHL has postponed Saturday's game between the Canucks and Ottawa Senators in Vancouver due to ongoing attendance restrictions.
The league also pushed back a matchup between the Senators and Jets in Winnipeg originally set for Jan. 15.
The NHL says the games will be rescheduled for dates later in the season when such restrictions may be eased or lifted.
Neither the Canucks (16-15-3) nor the Sens (9-18-2) have played since Jan. 1, and Vancouver hasn't hosted a game since Dec. 14 when they edged the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3.
Ottawa has been dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak that saw nine players and an assistant coach placed in the league's protocol, and forced Thursday's game against the Kraken in Seattle to be pushed back indefinitely.
The Canucks added right-winger Alex Chiasson to the list Friday after he was held out of Thursday's practice due to a positive test result.
Five other Canucks were in the league's protocol Thursday, including forwards Brock Boeser and Phillip Di Giuseppe (Dec. 29), Justin Dowling (Dec. 30), Jason Dickinson (Jan. 1) and Elias Pettersson (Jan. 5).
The Senators are scheduled to face the Oilers in Edmonton on Monday and the Canucks will kick off a five-game road trip Tuesday against the Florida Panthers.
Gogolev withdraws from Canadian figure skating championships
Stephen Gogolev, a national silver medallist, was forced to withdraw from the Canadian figure skating championships after testing positive for COVID-19.
The 17-year-old from Toronto trains in the U.S. and while he produced a negative test before travelling to Ottawa for the Olympic trials, he was selected for a random PCR test upon arrival, and tested positive.
Gogolev is one of Canada's top young skaters, winning silver at the 2019 Canadian championships when he was just 14. He won the junior Grand Prix Final that same year.
The national championships determine the team for the Beijing Olympics. Canada, has two Olympic berths in men's singles.
The men's short program was Friday, and the free program is Saturday. The team will be named Sunday.
Yamamoto tests positive
Later, the Oilers placed Kailer Yamamoto in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol after the forward tested positive on a rapid test.
Yamamoto was pulled from the Oilers' practice Friday after recording the positive result. Coach Dave Tippett said the team is awaiting further results to confirm the test.
Edmonton also has superstar captain Connor McDavid, defenceman Tyson Barrie and forward Derek Ryan in protocol.
McDavid, Barrie and Ryan are eligible to come out of protocol on Sunday provided they are asymptomatic and return a negative test.
WATCH | NHL schedule upended by virus:
Leafs add pair to protocol
The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed forwards Mitch Marner and Pierre Engvall into the NHL's COVID-19 protocol.
The forwards are the 16th and 17th Toronto players to enter the league's protocol since a COVID-19 outbreak on the team started last month, but are the only two team members currently sidelined by the virus.
Seven staff members have also gone through the league's protocol.
Star forward Auston Matthews tested positive for COVID-19 on a rapid antigen test Monday, but returned a negative PCR test the next day that was later confirmed and played in the Maple Leafs' 4-2 win over visiting Edmonton on Wednesday.
The Maple Leafs have assigned Joey Anderson and Brett Seney to their taxi squad from the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies.
Habs add 2 more players to protocol
The Montreal Canadiens added two more players into the NHLs COVID-19 protocol.
Forward Alex Belzile and defenceman Kale Clague are the two latest players to be added by the Habs.
The Canadiens said the players are being monitored by team doctors and continue to follow league guidelines.
The Canadiens have 24 players, assistant coach Trevor Letowski and goaltender coach Eric Raymond on the protocol list.
WHL suspends activities for 15 teams
The Western Hockey League has postponed eight games and suspended activities for 15 teams due to COVID-19 concerns.
The WHL said in a release Friday that the affected teams have had players and staff added to the league's COVID-19 protocol list due to exhibiting symptoms or having tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Calgary Hitmen, Edmonton Oil Kings, Everett Silvertips, Kamloops Blazers, Medicine Hat Tigers, Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders, Prince George Cougars, Red Deer Rebels, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Spokane Chiefs, Tri-City Americans, Victoria Royals and Winnipeg Ice are the affected teams.
Spokane's games Saturday in Seattle and Tuesday and Wednesday in Victoria have been postponed, as has Prince Albert at Edmonton and Kelowna at Prince George on Tuesday, and Calgary at Moose Jaw and Kelowna at Prince George on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the WHL has cleared the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Swift Current Broncos to resume all team activities.
OHL schedule adjustments
The Ontario Hockey League has postponed two games and rescheduled another due to COVID-19 protocols affecting the Saginaw Spirit.
The league postponed Saginaw's games Friday at Sarnia and Saturday against visiting Flint.
Meanwhile, Flint's game at Sarnia has been moved up from Jan. 19 to Saturday.
The OHL has postponed 45 games so far this year due to capacity limits in Ontario and outbreaks on teams due to the spread of the highly transmissible COVID-19 Omicron variant. Some of those games have since been rescheduled.
Raptors re-sign D.J. Wilson
The Toronto Raptors have signed forward D.J. Wilson to a second 10-day contract via the COVID hardship exception.
The six-foot-10 231-pounder averaged 12.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 23.5 minutes in two games during his first stint with the Raptors. He had 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a career-high five steals Dec. 26 at Cleveland.
The California native has also played in 14 games with the Oklahoma City Blue in the NBA G League this season, averaging 14.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 26.1 minutes.
Wilson was picked 17th overall by Milwaukee in the 2017 NBA draft after three seasons at Michigan. He has averaged 4.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 12.5 minutes in 144 games with Milwaukee, Houston, and Toronto.
Raptors forward Yuta Watanabe remained out due to health and safety protocols ahead of Friday night's game against the visiting Utah Jazz.
