As of 12:30 p.m., the Bruins still have a game to play Thursday night against the Islanders in New York.
That despite placing three more players and a staff member in COVID-19 protocol Thursday morning, with Jeremy Swayman, Trent Frederic and Anton Blidh joining Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Craig Smith.
The Bruins called up goalie Kyle Keyser and forward Jesper Froden to fill out their roster. They had already called up forwards Jack Studnicka and Oskar Steen in recent days.
While Boston's defense -- knock on wood -- remains healthy as of now, coach Bruce Cassidy has his work cut out for him as he tries to piece together his forward lines.
Speaking to the media, Cassidy shared what his lineup will be at least to start Thursday night's game, although he acknowledged things could change and be shuffled around.
Taylor Hall - Charlie Coyle - David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk - Jack Studnicka - Oskar Steen
Erik Haula - Tomas Nosek - Nick Foligno
Jesper Froden - Curtis Lazar - Karson Kuhlman
Derek Forbort - Charlie McAvoy
Matt Grzelcyk - Brandon Carlo
Mike Reilly - Connor Clifton
Linus Ullmark
Kyle Keyser
Ullmark will start in goal Thursday. The 22-year-old Keyser could make his NHL debut in one of the two games this weekend.
Reilly was a healthy scratch Tuesday night, with John Moore playing instead. The Bruins have since sent Moore back down to Providence, a move that Cassidy said had more to do with the salary cap (the Bruins needed to free up money to call up forwards) than Moore's play.
Up front, a lot of eyes will be on Studnicka, who has played 31 NHL games (including playoffs) but has yet to really take a job and run with it. Cassidy said on Wednesday that reports out of Providence are that Studnicka has been "uneven" down there this season.
"There's an opportunity for Jack Studnicka," Cassidy said Thursday. "We'd like to see him take some steps here. It's an opportunity now without a centerman [Bergeron] who plays a lot of minutes in the lineup."
Looking ahead, Cassidy said he was not aware of any conversations about any games being postponed or the trip to Canada being called off. The games in Montreal and Ottawa add an extra obstacle to this whole situation, because a positive test in Canada would mean a 10-day quarantine that could prevent that player from returning to Boston and force them to be stuck in Canada for Christmas.
Cassidy acknowledged players have questions about how all that will work that they'll probably want clarification on before making the trip. It's possible that arrangements could be made for a player who tests positive in Canada to be allowed to drive back, given that Montreal or Ottawa to Boston is a manageable drive.
Cassidy said Marchand, Bergeron and Smith were all "feeling OK" as of Wednesday night and that they hadn't been "hit hard" by COVID.