Sabres Covid List Cozens, Lazar and Risto off the list 2/16. Mittlestadt is the only remaining Sabre on the List

[Marvin]

This can be literally life-or-death.  IMHO, they should be more livid now than during the games.

[Taro T]

12 minutes ago, fiftyone said:

Haha i'm all for more points. But people are saying that the Sabres are livid with the Devils, and I'm thinking (wondering if) it's actually the league who says yes or no to playing, not the team. 

No data.  Would expect the teams are expected to report honestly their players' statuses and that based on that the league determines whether to play or postpone.  

Seems the Sabres think the Devils were holding back information that would've led to different decisions on at least Sunday and likely Saturday as well.  IF the Devils did game the reporting requirements, then the forfeitures aren't THAT outrageous.  (Fully expecting nothing to come of this other than a stern warning to not let it happen again.) 

12 minutes ago, fiftyone said:

Haha i'm all for more points. But people are saying that the Sabres are livid with the Devils, and I'm thinking (wondering if) it's actually the league who says yes or no to playing, not the team. 

No data.  Would expect the teams are expected to report honestly their players' statuses and that based on that the league determines whether to play or postpone.  

Seems the Sabres think the Devils were holding back information that would've led to different decisions on at least Sunday and likely Saturday as well.  IF the Devils did game the reporting requirements, then the forfeitures aren't THAT outrageous.  (Fully expecting nothing to come of this other than a stern warning to not let it happen again.) 

[IKnowPhysics]

Quote

Teams were put on notice before the season that failure to adhere to the NHL's COVID-19 protocols would result in penalties.

"Established violations of, and/or lack of compliance with, the COVID-19 protocol will result in significant club and individual sanctions, including potential forfeiture of games, fines and reimbursements of expenses, loss of draft choices, and/or ineligibility for participation in training activities," the league said in its official COVID-19 protocols handbook.

I'd tell the NHL to bring out the ***** stick of justice, but they're complicit.

[Scottysabres]

1 hour ago, dudacek said:

Serious questions need to be asked about why the weekend games were allowed to happen.

Yep.

[Andrew Amerk]

2 hours ago, dudacek said:

Serious questions need to be asked about why the weekend games were allowed to happen.

Serious questions need to be asked about why the NHL allowed an illegal goal to decide the Cup in ‘99. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 minutes ago, Andrew Amerk said:

Serious questions need to be asked about why the NHL allowed an illegal goal to decide the Cup in ‘99. 

To help expand the game in non-traditional markets (and to screw the Sabres)

[spndnchz]

1 hour ago, fiftyone said:

Haha i'm all for more points. But people are saying that the Sabres are livid with the Devils, and I'm thinking (wondering if) it's actually the league who says yes or no to playing, not the team. 

Yes. Question 1. 
 

yes. Question 2.

 

like sending your kids to school not knowing there’s an outbreak

[triumph_communes]

They’re going to be way behind in the standings now. Hope this lights a fire under their ass

 

and Eichel gets test to heal whatever the hell is wrong 

[Curt]

I’m just surprised that the contact tracing found any Sabres who made  contact with Devils players.

 

Seriously though, hope everyone remains healthy.  It’s a lot more important than hockey.

Edited February 3, 2021 by Curt

[spndnchz]

Just now, triumph_communes said:

They’re going to be way behind in the standings now. Hope this lights a fire under their ass

 

and Eichel gets test to heal whatever the hell is wrong 

They’ll have to play the same number of games, the opportunity to get the max points they can. It will affect the number of games played in ‘so many nights though’.

[LabattBlue]

1 minute ago, triumph_communes said:

They’re going to be way behind in the standings now. Hope this lights a fire under their ass

 

and Eichel gets test to heal whatever the hell is wrong 

If Covid starts reaking havoc on the number of games a team has cancelled, I really think the NHL will have no choice but to go to point percentage instead of total points.  There just isn't a lot of wiggle room for a team to make up games short of them ending up with crazy 4 games in 5 night stints down the road. 

[Brawndo]

Gary Bettman will apologize to Terry over a private phone call and that will be that. 
 

Friedman mentioned that if teams cannot make up missed games that have playoff implications, winning percentage will be used to determine playoff rankings. 
 

I’m sure the owners will love forfeiting games 

[miles]

Im still surprised that they are playing this way. I mean they are putting players, staff, coaches, etc at risk

[spndnchz]

35 minutes ago, miles said:

Im still surprised that they are playing this way. I mean they are putting players, staff, coaches, etc at risk

They don’t make much if anything on games. They (I would think) just get playoffs and make sponsors happy (relatively)

[JoeSchmoe]

I apologize if this has already been asked and answered, but does anyone know why Hall and Risto were singled out? I did find this online. I see Hall having the potential to maybe have met up with some old teammates and been penalized under clause (3). I'm not sure about Risto though. Hopefully both will be fine.

--------------------------

Such “COVID Protocol Related Absences” can be the result of a number of factors including, among others: (1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Edited February 3, 2021 by JoeSchmoe

[bob_sauve28]

I wonder how the virus does in the air of a hockey rink.  Is cold dry air good or bad for it to live? 

[IKnowPhysics]

1 hour ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I wonder how the virus does in the air of a hockey rink.  Is cold dry air good or bad for it to live? 

It's unfortunately excellent for the virus and bad for people.  It seems to have everything to do with infected persons breathing very heavily while playing, creating lots of airborne droplets, and air ventilation systems generally designed to isolate the ice surface and keep it cold, suspending those droplets where other players breathe heavily.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/12/04/hockey-covid-transmission-outbreaks/

Quote

Ice hockey is an anomaly. Scientists are studying hockey-related outbreaks hoping to find clues about the ideal conditions in which the coronavirus thrives — and how to stop it. Experts speculate that ice rinks may trap the virus around head level in a rink that, by design, restricts airflow, temperature and humidity.

The hockey-related cases have been especially striking, epidemiologists have said, because clubs followed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention limits on gathering size and had numerous social distancing measures in place. In retrospect, one mistake by some clubs was that until recently masks had been required on ice for only the two players doing the initial faceoff for the puck — although many players wore clear face shields, which theoretically should have a similar effect. ...

One critical way hockey differs from other contact team sports is how players do line changes — substitutions of groups of players — and are expected to sprint for nearly the whole time they are on the ice. Experts say it probably leads to heavier breathing, resulting in more particles being exhaled and inhaled.

Jose-Luis Jimenez, an air engineer at the University of Colorado, speculated that the spaces occupied by rinks keep the virus suspended, perhaps six to nine feet, just above the ice. Similar outbreaks have been documented in other chilly venues — meat processing factories and at a curling match earlier in the pandemic.

“I suspect the air is stratified,” he said. “Much like in a cold winter night, you have these inversions where the cold air with the virus which is heavier stays closer to the ground. That gives players many more chances to breathe it in.”

 

The CDC recorded a single game during which one infected person was able to infect 14 of 22 players and one staff member:

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6941a4.htm

 

It's actually pretty hard to find events and activities that are worse, transmission wise, than indoor ice hockey.  It's one of the reasons that the playoffs last year was a miracle.

[PerreaultForever]

32 minutes ago, IKnowPhysics said:

It's actually pretty hard to find events and activities that are worse, transmission wise, than indoor ice hockey.  It's one of the reasons that the playoffs last year was a miracle.

A miracle? Or because they held it in a bubble in Canada. Travel is the issue. 

Maybe it'll all even out by the end, but a big asterisk has to be placed beside any results/winners this year. When you play someone is more important than who you play. Right now there's one team that's played 13 games and one that's only played 6 (a bunch at 7). That disparity alone results in skewed results. How do you make up that difference? You cram a pile of games in late or you make teams sit and wait? It's a mess, but I confess I'd be unhappy if they cancelled the season so it is what it is.

This is why I skipped the NHL package this year though for the first time in ages. 

Look on the bright side, Sabres won't lose this week. 

[Huckleberry]

3 days between the first devils adn islanders game, those Devils players should have been positive already, this is really bad on on the league.

If I was terry i'd just say, ***** you guys I'm cancelling the season because you are putting my players (workforce) at risk.

[bob_sauve28]

7 hours ago, IKnowPhysics said:

It's unfortunately excellent for the virus and bad for people.  It seems to have everything to do with infected persons breathing very heavily while playing, creating lots of airborne droplets, and air ventilation systems generally designed to isolate the ice surface and keep it cold, suspending those droplets where other players breathe heavily.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/12/04/hockey-covid-transmission-outbreaks/

 

The CDC recorded a single game during which one infected person was able to infect 14 of 22 players and one staff member:

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6941a4.htm

 

It's actually pretty hard to find events and activities that are worse, transmission wise, than indoor ice hockey.  It's one of the reasons that the playoffs last year was a miracle.

Sounds like the perfect storm! I was thinking that the cold air might kill the virus but probably not fast enough, if it does at all. Thanks for that link! 

[Kristian]

9 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said:

I wonder how the virus does in the air of a hockey rink.  Is cold dry air good or bad for it to live? 

Dry - bad, cold - good.

Worst conditions are dry and hot, best are cold and humid.

[Zamboni]

I would think that by now we would’ve heard if other Sabres were in Covid protocol… so if it doesn’t increase… Two players “down” isn’t devastating… Although it sucks big time. I hope we hear of no other players/staff etc..

[PASabreFan]

Quote

"At this point, it’s not clear to us that there was transmission between teams," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Tuesday night in an e-mail to The Buffalo News. "The incubation period was shorter than it normally would be. We’ll see what happens in the next couple of days and then perhaps we will have information from which we can draw conclusions."

https://buffalonews.com/sports/sabres/sabres-season-on-pause-as-hall-ristolainen-land-on-covid-19-list/article_587daf9a-65a6-11eb-9774-7765ac2e7344.html

I was wondering about this myself. Testing positive three days after exposure is within the range of the incubation period (2-14 days). But the average is five days.

[spndnchz]

February 11 vs. Capitals would be the next game. Thursday at home

[Second Line Center]

16 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

lol the reports of the Sabres being furious. No ONE and I MEAN NO ONE in this entire organization has any emotions ever. They exude boring milquetoast like attitudes perpetually. 

 

Feels like they're reaching to get something to galvanize them other then pride and win at all costs.