October 28, 2009
NHL taking precaution against H1N1 virus

[DENVER, CO] -- Wash your hands, cover your mouth if you cough, don't share glasses or bottles of water ... who'd have known these precautions would become so important in hockey?

These are common sense procedures at all times, really, but all the more significant now that the H1N1 virus – better known as swine flu – is making the rounds in the NHL.

Three players are known to have been diagnosed with the disease: Colorado's Peter Budaj, Edmonton's Ladislav Smid and Washington's Quintin Laing.

And New York Newsday is reporting that Islanders captain Doug Weight missed three games with the illness, that he was isolated from his teammates in case he had it, but that he’s healthy now.

This isn't exactly an epidemic, not with over 700 players on NHL rosters, but league officials are keeping a watchful eye on the situation, as they should.

"We have been regularly providing our clubs with updated information and recommendations as they become available,” the league said in a statement released to The Canadian Press. “We have not mandated specific precautions or courses of action. The league is monitoring the progression of the flu, but (has) implemented no specific contingency plans at this point in time. However, we will be prepared to do so should it become necessary.”

Budaj missed his fourth consecutive game Wednesday when the Avalanche played in Calgary, the second game of a four-game road trip. He was scheduled to make his first start of the season on Oct. 23 against Carolina but became ill, forcing the Avalanche to summon Tyler Weiman from the Lake Erie Monsters in the AHL to suit up as Craig Anderson’s backup.

Laing didn't play Tuesday and will sit out at least two more games. Smid, surprisingly, didn’t miss any games.

All Avalanche members already had received regular flu immunizations, but the team announced on Tuesday that Budaj, who didn’t accompany the team on the trip, had been diagnosed with swine flu.

"We've taken the necessary steps, the necessary precautions, to keep him away from the guys at the right time,” Avalanche coach Joe Sacco told the Denver Post. “Hopefully, he'll be joining us on this trip.”

With Budaj unable to go and Weiman having just 16 minutes of NHL play on his career resume, Anderson played every second of the Avalanche’s first 12 games.

According to World Health Organization guidelines, washing one’s hands properly should take about as long as “singing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice.” I’m not making this up; it’s right on the WHO web site.

“Clean your hands regularly; wash your hands with soap and water, and dry them thoroughly; use an alcohol-based hand rub if you don’t have immediate access to soap and water,” the WHO says.

Sounds like the kind of stuff our moms have been telling us for years (well, except for the alcohol-based part).

Anyway, traveling sports teams could be more at risk than the general population despite athletes’ highly-tuned physical condition. Just about every team charters these days, but the constant grind of games and travel can take a toll and wear players down, making them more susceptible to illness.

Hopefully, no more players will become infected, but even taking all of the correct precautions is no guarantee of that.

*****

Stanley Cup hangover? Not for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won nine of their first 11 games, including all five on the road.

This isn't really a surprise, considering how much talent the Penguins have, but they've been using strong goaltending and overall team play to vault to the top of the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins' top scorer, Evgeni Malkin, is 15th in league scoring and Sidney Crosby is right behind him. The power play is ranked 18th in the league and the penalty killing ninth.

So, except for goalies Marc-Andre Fleury and Brent Johnson – they’ve combined for a 2.22 goals-against average and .915 save percentage – Pittsburgh isn’t doing a whole lot from a statistical point of view.

Opponents can't keep stars like Malkin and Crosby down for long, so that’s likely to change, and the Penguins are winning despite injuries to Sergei Gonchar and Max Talbot.

In the meantime, what’s the deal? Why are these guys playing so well?

"It's been a team effort in a lot of areas, a lot of players doing their job," coach Dan Bylsma told Pittsburgh reporters. "Our team (isn't) playing great in every aspect or any aspect, but a lot of people are doing their jobs, and as a result we've put ourselves in a situation to win some hockey games."

*****

As for the New York Islanders, they've certainly been victimized by bad luck, along with awful third-period play. They lost nine of their first 10 games, five in overtime, and blown three leads of two goals or more in the third period.

"We're not the only team," Islanders coach Scott Gordon said of his club's inability to hang onto a late lead. "Given the fact that we're certainly not a dynamic offensive team, it's probably going to happen to us more than we'd like."

Well, there's optimism for you.

"It (already) has happened more than we'd like," Gordon said. "We're not happy about it. That killer instinct that comes from burying your chances, we've got to find a way to be a little tighter defensively."

Probably more than a little bit.

Rick Sadowski is a columnist for TheFourthPeriod.com and the Colorado correspondent for The Fourth Period Magazine. He has covered the NHL since 1981, most recently for the dearly-departed Rocky Mountain News in Denver. He's written for several publications and web sites, including NHL.com. Check out his blog Through the 5 Hole.