Chances are no one dared suggest replacing celebratory huddles after goals with nods and winks from a distance. And quite likely, the subject of outlawing face washes wasn't even broached.
But as concerns grows about the spread of H1N1, the national governing body of hockey in the United States still found a way of adding a game-specific element to its endorsement of Center for Disease Control precautionary measures. USA Hockey called on players to take standard precautions like washing hands frequently, cleaning workout gear and not sharing water bottles with teammates, and went a step further by recommending players keep their gloves on during any postgame handshake lines.
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| 'We try to take whatever precautions we can to avoid players getting sick,' Flyers coach John Stevens says. (Getty Images) |
The impact of a dozen Cleveland Browns players going down early in the week was not lost in the hockey world, particularly for teams like the Edmonton Oilers, who have been hit themselves, though to a lesser degree. Edmonton has already had top six forwards Ales Hemsky and Gilbert Brule miss games because of seasonal flus, and several others miss practices.
"We're unfortunate that it's spread around our locker room, but it spreads pretty fast and with H1N1 everyone is worried and scared," Oilers defenseman Ladislav Smid told Edmonton reporters after missing a couple of practice days. "You have to be careful. It was kind of funny about a week ago but it's not funny anymore."
Nobody is laughing. Team trainers are putting more hand sanitizers in locker rooms areas, and precautionary reminders are being posted. Beyond that, players are being sent home at the first sign of flu-like symptoms, which cost Peter Budaj his first start in goal for Colorado on Friday, and some, like Buffalo's Clarke MacArthur, are being told to wear surgical masks on team charters if they are ill.
It's all common sense stuff really, but critical in an environment like the NHL, where teams travel through different climates frequently and share hotel rooms and close quarters. And it's probably easier than trying to convince everyone to take the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available, something that will be recommended by the NHL, but voluntary.
Still, there will be growing pressure on teams to do everything they can to stay healthy in this compressed schedule. A bad flu bug can upend a lineup enough to impact a season in the wrong way.
"No question and that's why we try to take whatever precautions we can to avoid players getting sick," said Flyers coach John Stevens said. "It doesn't matter who the players are, losing them can hurt your team."
Royal pain
There may be trouble brewing in Tinseltown, even though the young Los Angeles Kings continue to make impressive progress.
Coach Terry Murray has done a fine job getting the many fresh-faced talents brought together by GM Dean Lombardi to play to their potential, but the Kings brain trust is not hiding its frustration with sniper Alexander Frolov, the one-time first-round draft choice who has only one goal and is a minus-2.
Problem is the 27-year-old forward is a skilled player who has averaged 30 goals in the past three seasons, but his talent isn't always matched by his enthusiasm, and to underline his displeasure, Murray scratched him from a game Monday in Dallas. Frolov had made a bad giveaway in the previous game at Columbus, but what riled the coach was the player's lackadaisical approach when they met the following day.
And his decision had the full support of Lombardi.
"It's not a player making a physical mistake. It borders on not caring and that's not tolerable," Lombardi told the Los Angeles Times. "The coach believes he's done everything he can, which I know he has. And after what happened in Columbus, enough's enough."
Well not quite. With the emergence this year of Anze Kopitar, Frolov may not be the Kings' most dangerous player, but he is still a $4 million asset and eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer. The Kings have indicated they want to re-sign him, but with the rest of the nucleus coming together so well, they might have to consider him expendable enough to move before the trade deadline.
Of course that means playing him, which is why Frolov's sit-down lasted only one game. He returned Thursday at home, and earned some grudging praise from Murray for pouncing on a turnover and creating a two-on-one rush that resulted in linemate Wayne Simmonds goal against the Stars.
"He played good," Murray said with a sigh. "He was strong on the puck, tried to do something late at the game where he tried to take over and get the winning goal, I like that attitude -- that's the kind of game we have to see in him all the time."
Road weariers
It has been a tale of two teams for the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are unbeaten at home and only 2-3 on the road.
Coach Ken Hitchcock conceded his team has come up with different intensity levels depending on the color jersey the players are wearing, but he noted that it's an additional challenge Eastern-based teams have to deal with if they are in the Western Conference.
Hitchcock said there were travel issues when he coached the Dallas Stars in the Pacific Division with three California teams and one from Arizona, but they were nothing like those faced by the Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings.
"This is a lot more difficult because you're coming home so late all the time, 5, 6, 7 in the morning, it's a hard trip," Hitchcock told NHL Live this week about the team's current road trip that has stops in Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles and Anaheim. "After California, we're back at 6 in the morning and then two nights later we're playing."
Yes but at least the Jackets will be at home.
They said it
'Something has to be done [by the NHL] or we'll have to take care of it our way' -- Rangers coach John Tortorella on teams taking runs at Henrik Lundqvist, one of several goalies around the league getting hit often by hard-charging forwards.
