When the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers meet on Sunday in Lake Tahoe, both sides will be somewhat limited.
Philly is recovering from an outbreak of COVID-19 within the team that attracted multiple players to health and safety protocols. Although the Bruins have avoided this crisis so far, they have not been able to avoid injury problems.
As a result, six Flyers and three Bruins have already been discarded for the confrontation on (well, beside) the lake.
Here is the list of the Bruins:
Ondrej Kase
Matt Grzelcyk
Jakub Zboril
Few surprises are here. Grzelcyk and Zboril have suffered injuries, as has Kase – who has not played since the second game of the season.
The Bruins will bring Steven Kampfer and Karson Kuhlman on the trip, while Callum Booth will act as a goalkeeper for the taxi squad. Tuukka Rask is already confirmed to start on the network.
Here is the list of Flyers:
Claude Giroux
Jakub Voracek
Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom
Scott Laughton
Justin Braun
While the Bruins are obviously not benefiting from their absences, the Flyers are far worse. Giroux, Voracek and Konecny are the top scorers, while Lindblom, Laughton and Braun are regulars on the team.
Morgan Frost is also on the COVID-19 list, but was already on the injured reserve.
So even though there are already nine discarded players, such is the life of playing a season of professional sports in the midst of a global pandemic.
Miniature photo via Bob DeChiara / USA TODAY Sports Images