Oilers at Blues GameDay Thread: Back to business

There’s been a lot of hockey news today, not much of it what one would consider “good.”

The NHL released their new protocols for COVID-19, and those could probably be considered the day’s highlight. They’re very specific, and honestly, they don’t give off the vibe of “we’re doing this because we’re scared of what’s happening to our product.” Instead, they’re thought-out and clear, which are two things that the NHL doesn’t always pull off:

From the NHL’s press release:

Specifics of the changes to the Protocol after a positive test include:

Isolate for five days;

If the individual has a fever, continue to isolate until their fever resolves;

If the individual has no symptoms or their symptoms are resolving after five days, they can leave isolation and return to practices and games, provided the following conditions are met:

A lab-based PCR test that is negative, or a lab-based PCR test that has a CT value >30, or two negative molecular point of care tests collected >2 hours apart; and,

Medical clearance from the individual’s Club physician; and,

Such exit is permitted by their local health authority.

The individual shall continue to always wear a mask around others for five additional days, other than for practices and games.

All other aspects of the Protocol remain in place.

The NHL’s and NHLPA’s medical experts will re-evaluate these measures on or before Jan. 12.

This would’ve come in handy for the Blues earlier this season, but it does mean that there’s the potential for the Blues who are currently on the list - Ivan Barbashev, James Neal, Dakota Joshua, and Robert Bortuzzo - to be spending less time away.

Clearly, none of those guys are coming back tonight, but the Blues are still icing a team that’s more than capable of taking out the Oilers.

Tonight’s the last game of 2021. Comment like you’re ready to leave this year behind.

Let’s do this. Let’s Go Blues.