SPORT-SCAN DAILY BRIEF NHL 3/23/2020 Anaheim Ducks 1181425 NHL observations: Players try to stay busy at home during coronavirus pandemic Boston Bruins 1181426 Could Tuukka Rask retire after his current deal is up? Carolina Hurricanes 1181427 Canes’ John Forslund, symptom-free for coronavirus, eager to end self-quarantine Columbus Blue Jackets 1181428 View from John Forslund’s bunker | Bucky Dent HR still punch to gut to Red Sox fan Detroit Red Wings 1181429 Fox Sports Detroit freelancers getting no financial help or answers from parent company Edmonton Oilers 1181430 Raphael Lavoie is richer now but staying close to home in light of COVID-19 1181431 Lowetide: Oilers get good news from the farm as second-half performances spike Ottawa Senators 1181432 After a second Ottawa Senator tests positive for COVID-19, others awaiting results Philadelphia Flyers 1181433 A growing number of women are NHL executives, and the Flyers’ commitment to inclusion stands out. But few wome 1181434 Flyers-Rangers Game 2 in 1995 was The Best Game I Ever Saw Live 1181435 Flyers prospect Wyatt Kalynuk has developed into 'elite offensive defenseman' at Wisconsin San Jose Sharks 1181436 Sharks' Mario Ferraro posts home workout to do while social distancing St Louis Blues 1181437 Relative of Blues employee tests positive for coronavirus Tampa Bay Lightning 1181438 Second NHL player tests positive for coronavirus Toronto Maple Leafs 1181439 In the NHL, the hunt for the next Tyler Bozak is the only game in town Vancouver Canucks 1181444 Willes' Musings: Canada pulling out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was the only choice to make 1181445 Canucks at 50: Who really lit the fuse for infamous Torts Tunnel Tirade? 1181446 Canucks at 50: Stormin' Torts resorts to getting in Flames' faces in epic 'throwdown' Vegas Golden Knights 1181440 Golden Knights sign Zach Whitecloud to 2-year extension 1181441 Zach Whitecloud used winding path to NHL to gain poise that makes him effective Washington Capitals 1181442 Alex Ovechkin posts Nike message on Instagram urging people to stay inside 1181443 Beltway March Madness: Crowning a champion athlete from our local pro teams Websites 1181447 Sportsnet.ca / NHL's top 20 UFAs of 2020: Latest rumours, reports 1181448 Sportsnet.ca / Brainstorming six Stanley Cup Playoff format ideas for 2020 1181449 Sportsnet.ca / Report: Bruins' Tuukka Rask says retiring after next season 'a possibility' 1181450 Sportsnet.ca / A starting lineup of NHL players having surprisingly good seasons World Leagues News 1181451 Canada, Australia pulling out of Olympics because of coronavirus 1181452 Coronavirus updates, sports timeline: IOC sets deadline for 2020 Tokyo Olympics postponement decision; NFL, NB 1181453 With coronavirus putting sports on hold, how are we coping? 1181454 Coronavirus cancellations and reactions in sports 1181455 Sports go virtual after coronavirus postponements 1181456 Long Beach shuts down sports facilities amid growing concern about coronavirus spread 1181457 Two ESPN employees test positive for coronavirus 1181458 US sports-betting companies are planning a resurgence around the NFL season and its delay would be a 'worst ca 1181459 Timeline of sport’s response to coronavirus on Sunday, March 22 1181460 Giving NCAA athletes another year of eligibility for coronavirus cancellations is costly 1181461 Sport-by-sport look at the impact of the coronavirus outbreak SPORT-SCAN, INC. 941-284-4129 1181425 Anaheim Ducks competitively, if we’re going to complete this current season, it has to have integrity. It has to be respectful of the well over 100-year history of the Stanley Cup.” NHL observations: Players try to stay busy at home during coronavirus Those two factors clash. The regular-season schedule was about 85 pandemic percent completed, and to finish it would push the playoffs into July or August and create a too-quick turnaround to start training camp in September for 2020-21. To keep next season semi-normal, the rest of By HELENE ELLIOTT this season would have to be scrapped or the playoffs would have to be condensed. Ice conditions are bad enough in May and June in many MARCH 22, 20203:15 PM rinks. In July or August, the ice would be slush. “I don’t think anyone has a magic potion as to what is the right thing to do,” Bettman said. The last three days should have been busy for the NHL, with 24 games A few good things have happened during this bad time. NHL teams have Friday, Saturday and Sunday involving teams jockeying for division titles, pledged to pay game-day employees, at least for a while, and a handful playoff position, or better draft lottery odds. With the season paused of players have chipped in to help. Teams are keeping fans engaged by because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, players who were advised staging simulated games or producing custom wallpapers for fans’ by the league to self-isolate are finding creative ways to stay in shape phones. Players have donated gear to be auctioned for charity, and the while offering a peek at their homes and their humor via social media. Vegas Golden Knights started a digital book club, with Ken Dryden’s landmark “The Game” being the first selection. Players have posted videos of themselves trying to work out in their living rooms, basements and kitchens only to be interrupted by their adorable Hockey Night in Canada aired hockey-themed movies last Saturday, and kids or equally adorable dogs. Some filmed themselves stickhandling NBCSN this week will air replays of memorable outdoor games, decisive through obstacle courses comprised of rolls of toilet paper. A few worked playoff contests and great Olympic moments, including the U.S. women’s on their soccer skills by juggling toilet paper rolls, with uneven results. hockey team’s gold medal victory over Canada at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson and his brother Joey, a forward for the New Jersey Devils, competed in a series of contests in their family’s All to be viewed alone, with immediate family, or at a socially responsible Minnesota garage for — you guessed it — a four-roll pack of toilet paper. distance from others until the trail of the Stanley Cup becomes safe for In a world turned upside down and essential goods being hoarded, the everyone to follow. Stanley Cup might no longer be hockey’s biggest prize. LA Times: LOADED: 03.23.2020 Half of NBA and NHL coronavirus cases are linked to Staples Center. What happened? Over the weekend the count of known positive coronavirus tests among NHL players reached two when the Ottawa Senators announced a second member of the team had tested positive after returning from a trip to play the Sharks at San Jose on March 7, the Ducks at Honda Center on March 10, and the Kings at Staples Center on March 11. The number of positives could grow: Of the Senators’ 52-member traveling party — including staff, media, guests and the flight crew — eight people were tested after showing symptoms. Two were positive and results weren’t in for other tests administered last week, the Senators said. In addition, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said via email that results were pending on a number of tests performed league-wide. A spokesman for the Sharks told the San Jose Mercury News no players had shown symptoms related to COVID-19 and, as a result, no players had been tested. Representatives of the Kings and the Ducks have said their players haven’t shown symptoms. “Everyone who took part in the Ottawa Senators trip to California was instructed to self-quarantine on Friday, March 13th and remain so,” the Senators’ statement said Saturday. “The Ottawa Senators’ medical team is actively monitoring players and staff and following all appropriate and professional guidelines to help ensure the health and safety of our employees and the greater community.” The NHL is staying in touch with teams regularly by email or conference calls, but there isn’t much Daly or Commissioner Gary Bettman can say in the face of so many unknowns. “We told them to self-quarantine on the day we paused the season: March 12. There has been no real change in advice or direction,” Daly said. Bettman, interviewed Thursday on ESPN’s “Get Up,” hasn’t given up on resuming the season in a way that would allow the Cup to be awarded. Despite his many achievements in boosting the NHL’s scope and revenues, he always will be remembered as the first commissioner of a major North American professional sports league — and so far the only one — to cancel an entire season. He killed the 2004-05 season to get a salary cap, but that was his choice. The decision on whether this season can finish might be out of his hands if local and federal governments don’t declare it safe to play, even in empty arenas. “I believe that, under the current circumstances, we can go later than we’ve ever gone. How late is a good question,” Bettman said. “What we want to make sure of is that we don’t do anything from this season that might impact next season having the normalcy it’s supposed to have. “So, the two factors are timing, relative to how late we can go without impacting next season, and making sure that whatever we do 1181426 Boston Bruins Boston Globe LOADED: 03.23.2020 Could Tuukka Rask retire after his current deal is up? By Matt Porter Globe Staff,Updated March 22, 2020, 4:34 p.m. I was there in Carolina on Dec. 23, 2018, when an unfocused bunch of Bruins gave the Hurricanes a sackful of early Christmas presents.