NHL News: Amid controversy Keith Yandle scores in Panthers home opener, COVID player list grows, and more
Anthony Scultore
|
The Panthers finally played their first game of the season yesterday. They were slated to open up against the Dallas Stars but those games were postponed due to 17 players testing positive.
NHL News: Keith Yandle ironman streak alive and well
If that wasn’t drama enough, Keith Yandle was on the verge of losing his ironman streak at the hands of a healthy scratch. The controversy lasted quite awhile and was highly publicized. That’s why he’s in the top 5 of our Trade Bait Board.
Eventually, cooler heads prevailed and Yandle was inserted into the starting line up. He rewarded the move by scoring the 100th goal of his career in the Panthers 5-2 win over the Blackhawks.
” I think scoring that goal kind of helped solidify the work that I put in and being ready to go,” Yandle said afterwards. “And I think a lot of it was seeing the guys, seeing their reaction to it and getting real fired up for me.”
NHL News: Jordan Staal on NHL’s COVID List
The NHL publicly releases the names of players on their COVID-19 protocol list. What isn’t always known is if the player tested positive or is in quarantine due to contact tracing. That’s the case with Hurricanes’ captain Jordan Staal who popped up on the list Saturday.
“He’s our leader on and off the ice,” head coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “We rely on him for so much. He’s a big part of what we’re doing but I know that’s part of what goes on in all sports. We’ve got to step up. Other guys have to fill that role.”
- Carolina Hurricanes – Jordan Staal
- Columbus Blue Jackets – Mikko Koivu
- Detroit Red Wings – Christian Djoos
- Minnesota Wild – Alex Stalock
- Nashville Predators – Mikael Granlund
- New Jersey Devils – Eric Comrie
- Philadelphia Flyers– Shayne Gostisbehere
- Tampa Bay Lightning – Curtis McElhinney
- Vancouver Canucks – Jordie Benn
- Winnipeg Jets – Anton Forsberg and Tucker Poolman