Hockey headlines for December 16, 2021

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Capitals rally to force OT, fall to Blackhawks in Nicklas Backstrom’s return (Washington Post)
Ducks defeat Kraken for 17th win, matching last season’s total (Orange County Register)
Calgary Flames COVID-19 outbreak has 17 more confirmed cases (Calgary Sun)
Nashville Predators latest NHL team hit by recent COVID-19 wave (The Tennessean)
Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron enters COVID protocol (Boston Herald)
Blue Jackets' game in Calgary postponed by COVID outbreak (Columbus Dispatch)
Hurricanes will play Thursday against the Red Wings, despite multiple COVID-19 cases (Raleigh News & Observer)
Ducks’ game vs. Flames in jeopardy because of Calgary COVID-19 outbreak (Orange County Register)
Canucks add assistant coach to Covid list (Vancouver Province)
Canucks hire Derek Clancey as assistant GM (Vancouver Province)
Blackhawks, Kyle Beach reach settlement agreement in sexual-assault lawsuit (Chicago Sun-Times)
Raptors, Maple Leafs home games to be limited to half capacity as Ontario tightens COVID restrictions (Toronto Star)
Half full: Senators and 67's set to deal with provincial attendance restrictions (Ottawa Sun)
Will NHL Stars Play at the Winter Olympics? (New York Post)
Why the NHL is having a huge COVID-19 outbreak despite high vaccination numbers (Seattle Times)
NHL enhancing COVID-19 protocols as number of cases rise (Montreal Gazette)
Canucks and COVID: Omicron virus variant vigilance vital for NHL, says diseases centre doc (Vancouver Province)
Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron: ‘A lot of questions’ must be answered if NHL players are to participate in Beijing Olympics (Boston Globe)
Sharks’ Karlsson says he won’t be at Olympics if quarantine rules stay the same (San Jose Mercury News)
Wings' Larkin: Would be 'unfortunate' to be quarantined at Olympics (Detroit Free Press)
As COVID-19 cases spike around NHL, healthy Blackhawks hope to avoid outbreak (Chicago Sun-Times)
Sabres shaken by uncertainty caused by rash of Covid-19 cases around NHL (Buffalo News)
As NHL’s COVID cases mount, Lightning ask what more they can do (Tampa Bay Times)
Gallant says he feels safe despite COVID spike around the league (New York Newsday)
Scoring aside, Sidney Crosby is starting to look like his old self again (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Matthews filling net for Maple Leafs with no NHL goal-scoring equal in 2021 (Toronto Sun)
Plenty of power-play options for Canada at world junior championship (Edmonton Sun)
Kaapo Kakko’s goal propels Rangers to comeback win over Coyotes (New York Post)
Kraken drop into early hole against Ducks, fail to win back-to-back road games in division (Seattle Times)
New York Rangers' late power-play goals send Arizona Coyotes to 6th straight loss (Arizona Republic)
Rangers’ Artemi Panarin exits with ‘minor lower-body injury’ (New York Post)
At this point, the Panthers’ power play is a ‘concern.’ The numbers behind the struggle (Miami Herald)
Penguins happy with fourth line's contributions (Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Jets put through paces at practice after woeful Sabres display (Winnipeg Sun)
Is the Blues' defense coming of age? (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Forced to find replacements, Wild's defensive makeover a major success (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
Sharks’ winger to have shoulder surgery, will be out long term (San Jose Mercury News)
Alex Tuch sheds noncontact jersey, close to making Sabres debut (Buffalo News)
Wings place Fabbri, Rasmussen on COVID list, but game Thursday is on (Detroit News)
Morgan Frost in COVID-19 protocol; Oskar Lindblom moves up to 2nd line (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Isles try to push forward with Barzal, opponents in COVID protocols (New York Newsday)
Lightning’s Taylor Raddysh grows more confident with every goal (Tampa Bay Times)
Better than ‘Perfection’: How Knights’ top line raised its game (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Dylan Strome — after weeks of ups and downs with the Chicago Blackhawks — clings to the top-line center role with Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat: ‘It’s a good opportunity’ (Chicago Tribune)
Lightning players, coach Jon Cooper share appreciation for Ben Bishop (Tampa Bay Times)