PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – As the Pens put their seventh player in COVID-19 protocols on Wednesday, a former player wonders why they set up this schedule in 2021-22.
AT&T SportsNet hockey analyst and Pens two-time Stanley Cup winner Jay Caufield told the Cook and Joe Show they should have stuck with the same scheduling as last year. Especially when it came to keeping the Canadian teams in their own division.
"This is what I felt before this is all happening," Caufield told 93.7 The Fan Wednesday. "I felt they should have stayed with what they did last year. Keep the divisions the way they were for one more year. Keep them where you play series just in case something like this happens and here it is, here we are."
"You are almost halfway through the season and we know how Canada has reacted before, they are must stricter. The border is going to be a problem and you may have to go with the division thing in the second half."
The Pens won the MassMutual East division last season as teams did play series in the same city to limit travel. Long-time rivals Philadelphia, Washington, the Rangers, Islanders along with Boston, New Jersey and Buffalo were the opponents in the 56-game schedule. Now what could be a cluster for schedule-makers when you also factor in arena availability for teams sharing with the NBA, concerts or other activities.
Scheduled to play in Toronto and Ottawa this week, those games were postponed. Will they be made up? The Pens are fortunate, as those are the final two games they have in Canada, but what about other team's schedules? Canadian teams playing in Pittsburgh?
There are no easy answers. It may not be the best team to win the Stanley Cup this season, but the team that deals with adversity best.
"If you can grind through this," Caufield said. "There are much worse things going on in the world then trying to figure out how to play your games, but as a player. You are used to your routines and now it's interrupted."
Again.
If there is a positive in Pittsburgh, Caufield believes Pens head coach Mike Sullivan is the perfect leader in these situations keeping teams together.
Kapanen sick
Pens winger Kasperi Kapanen, one of just six players to play every game, is now in COVID-19 protocol. Kapanen is the team's seventh leading scorer and has a pair of goals in his last five games.
Kapanen joins six others in the protocol with the next scheduled game at home on Sunday against San Jose.
