Also, let’s hope that Samsonov comes back with some strong performances. We seem pretty comfortable leaning on VV at the moment – he’s a big part of why we’re #1 in the division and have one of the best records league-wide. Maybe IS suffered from not having a proper camp, and benefitted a little too much from appearing to have no significant competition for the starter position?
I seem to remember IS didn’t look great in camp in 2019-2020, but looked good enough to warrant some time as backup given Holtby’s looming UFA status. He then knocked it out the park for the first three or so months. If he can get some practices in, and realises he has to fight not only for wins, but for playing time, perhaps he returns to the form we’ve seen both last year and in the KHL.
That said, as capable as VV seems to be, we know you need elite-level goaltending in the playoffs (which is not to say you need a guy who’s elite in the RS, but someone who can turn it up when the pressure gets tough). If IS can’t get it together, we’re going to be in trouble.
If it's true that Orlov and Oveckhin already had Covid and have antibodies, why the hell are they under protocol? Has the world (or NHL) go totally mad?
Without meaning to derail this into a science/medical discussion rather than hockey, having antibodies doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get COVID (with or without symptoms) or transmit it to others. There is little evidence right now on how effective immunity is, or how long it lasts, and there are reported cases of reinfections. The trials of vaccines have often been considered ‘successful’ by reducing the severity and length of illness when participants then got infected – not preventing them from getting it at all. It’s plausible natural immunity will have a similar effect, and so I don’t see anything wrong with the NHL COVID protocols assuming nothing re: antibodies and immunity.
This is what the protocol says on high-risk close contacts (HRCC), for the record:
Persons shall be considered to be a “Close Contact” if they have been within 6 feet of
the Index Individual for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period3, starting from 2 days before illness onset (or, for asymptomatic Index Individuals, 2 days prior to test specimen collection), until the time the Index Individual is isolated. Close Contacts may include a Player’s family if a Player tests positive.
[...]
The decision whether to impose a quarantine period for a Group 1 or 2A person considered to be a HRCC, and the length and nature of the quarantine period (minimum of 7-day CDC Test-based strategy, 10-day or 14 day quarantine), will take into consideration the likelihood that the person has contracted COVID-19, which assessment will include the non-exhaustive factors identified above, any relevant CDC or PHAC recommendations on the management of close contacts, and any applicable federal, state/provincial, or local health authority law or regulation.
https://media.nhl.com/site/asset/public/ext/2020-21/2020-21PositiveTestProtocol.pdf
One thing I think we’ve probably overlooked when making comparisons to other teams is it’s a
goaltender who tested positive on the Caps, not a skater. On the bench, relief goaltenders must still wear masks, and a goaltender who’s playing spends little or no time on the bench with the others but is staying stationary on the ice, with few people spending more than 15 minutes total in close contact with him there. If the Russian four hadn’t broken the rules, I imagine IS alone would be alone in quarantining. In contrast, if a guy like Nick Dowd had tested positive, it’s plausible the entire club would have to isolate because most of them would have spent at least 15 minutes in close contact with him (on the bench) without PPE. So the risk IS posed to the club as a whole might be low, but the risk he posed to Orlov, Kuznetsov and Ovechkin would have been much higher.
