Jaro Halák’s positive test was only revealed 30 minutes before Saturday’s game in Raleigh, NC
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The Vancouver Canucks’ decision to start the season with five goaltenders on NHL contracts is proving fortuitous.
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Reserve goalkeeper Jaro Halák, who was due to start Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes, has apparently tested positive for COVID-19. Thatcher Demko started in his place and Spencer Martin, who was added to the taxi team last month, stepped back.
Demko was originally scheduled to start Sunday in Washington against the Washington Capitals; seems likely to start both matinees now. Martin has only started three NHL games, all in 2016-17 for the Colorado Avalanche and struggled in all three.
Half an hour before Saturday’s matchup, the Canucks announced that veteran Halák was on the COVID-19 protocol, which means if his positive test is confirmed, he will have to isolate himself in a Raleigh, North Carolina hotel for at least five days. If you test negative after five days, you can leave the hotel, but you may not be able to return to Canada without quarantining, as Canadian border guards are proving somewhat arbitrary in requiring additional quarantine time.
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Brock Boeser, an American, and his two Canadian teammates, Justin Dowling and Phil Di Giuseppe, were required by a Public Health Agency of Canada quarantine officer to further quarantine after they completed isolation periods in Southern California earlier this month and tested negative. .
Ashton Sautner, who tested positive earlier this week while the team was in Florida, is in Ft. Lauderdale, but the team is hopeful he can join them in Nashville, where the Canucks are scheduled to play Tuesday.
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Reference-theprovince.com