The Panthers placed four new players in COVID-19 protocol on Sunday, the same day that they activated eight players from the list. With Huberdeau likely out until the middle of next week, Frank Vatrano moved up into the top-6 in Monday's practice.
Kadri was placed in COVID-19 protocol on December 18th but the team did not announce it until Sunday. The Avalanche provided expected return dates for all of the players still in protocol and put Kadri on track to be back ahead of Wednesday's game vs. Dallas.
Backlund is the latest Flames' player to be added to the COVID-19 protocol list, leaving them with just four active players.
Mantha was placed on IR on November 5th and moved to LTIR on Wednesday to make room for Nicklas Backstrom to be added to the roster ahead of his season debut.
The COVID-19 outbreak in Calgary continues as seven more players were added to the protocol list, including Andersson. That brings the total to 16 players.
Lomberg will miss Tuesday's game vs. Ottawa after entering the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. The Panthers will get Anthony Duclair back to help replace Lomberg and will also be recalling Aleksi Heponiemi from the AHL.
Ritchie was left back in Toronto with a non-COVID illness, so he will not play Tuesday in Edmonton. Brett Seney was recalled from Toronto (AHL) and may replace Ritchie in the lineup tomorrow.
The Devils are going through a small COVID-19 outbreak, so Studenic and Kevin Bahl were recalled from Utica as reinforcements. Bahl has two assists in 19 AHL games this season.
Kadri will miss Friday's game vs. the Red Wings due to a lower-body injury that he suffered on Wednesday. Luckily for the Avalanche, they will get JT Compher back on Friday to replace Kadri in the top-6. Andre Burakovsky will take Kadri's spot on the top power-play unit.
Kadri missed Saturday's game in Ottawa but will play Monday in Philadelphia. Kadri has been outstanding as of late, scoring eight goals with 18 assists (26 points) in his last 14 games.
According to head coach Jared Bednar, Kadri got "dinged up" in Montreal and will be a game-time decision on Saturday. Monitor his status as the Avalanche hit the ice for warmups at 6:30 PM ET.
