NHL News: Several key players activated around league but Rangers place Panarin on COVID list
Anthony Scultore
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New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin and assistant coach Mike Kelly have been added to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list, the team announced Sunday.
Panarin and Kelly will be unavailable for New York’s game against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday afternoon.
Forward Morgan Barron was recalled from the taxi squad for the game. The 23-year-old has one goal for his lone point in seven career NHL games.
Panarin, 30, leads the Rangers in points (36), while his 26 assists are tied for the club lead with defenseman Adam Fox.
Panarin has 509 points (175 goals, 334 assists) in 464 career games with the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Rangers.
Blackhawks activate Fleury
The Chicago Blackhawks activated goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury from the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol Sunday.
Fleury entered the health and safety protocol on Monday and missed one game for the Blackhawks.
The 37-year-old veteran will back up starter Arvid Soderblom in Sunday night’s game against the visiting Calgary Flames, coach Derek King said.
Fleury is 9-10-2 this season with two shutouts, a 2.86 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage.
The three-time Stanley Cup winner and reigning Vezina Trophy recipient earned his 500th career victory on Dec. 9 with a 2-0 win at Montreal.
Penguins activate Guentzel
Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust have been activated from injured reserve prior to Sunday afternoon’s game against the visiting San Jose Sharks.
Also on Sunday, the Penguins removed forward Teddy Blueger from COVID-19 protocol.
Guentzel has been sidelined with an upper-body injury since playing against the expansion Seattle Kraken on Dec. 6.
The 27-year-old Guentzel still leads the team in goals (15) and points (27) despite playing in just 24 games this season. He was in the midst of a 13-game point streak prior to his absence.
Guentzel has 284 points (136 goals, 148 assists) in 323 career games since being selected by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2013 NHL Draft.
Rust, 29, has been sidelined with a lower-body injury since Nov. 24. He has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in 12 games this season and 221 points (102 goals, 119 assists) in 376 career contests with the Penguins.
Blueger, 27, has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 30 games this season and 66 (29 goals, 37 assists) in 170 career contests with Pittsburgh.
Other Roster Moves
The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and forward Anthony Cirelli were taken off the COVID list and placed into the starting lineup against the Rangers.
Colorado also announced that captain Gabriel Landeskog was activated off injured reserve after missing three games with a lower-body injury. Defenseman Bowen Bryan was also taken off IR.
“I feel good,” Byram said via NHL.com. “I’m ready to play. It’s kind of a day-by-day thing at times, but I feel like I’ve continued to progress and I’m ready to go.”
–Field Level Media contributed to this article