REMAINING VIGILANT

Great leaders have a powerful influence - a voice that carries beyond the four walls of the workplace and serves to inspire others.
Darryl Sutter is one of those here in Calgary.
When he speaks, the players drop everything, perk up and listen.
So when the veteran head coach leans into the mic and shows concern over the public health crisis we're all grappling with, we can only hope those in this province do the same and take heed of his advice.

"They're young guys," the skipper said of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak with the Vancouver Canucks. "That sends a message to the world.
"These are young guys with families and children and we're seeing it more with this COVID variant.
"It sends a message of what we have to do in terms of being careful."

On Saturday, the Canucks added Travis Boyd, Jayce Hawyrluk, Bo Horvat, Tyler Motte, Brandon Sutter, Tyler Myers and Thatcher Demko to the COVID protocol list. This, after five players were added Friday, one on Thursday, and one Tuesday. An unidentified coach also is in protocol, with the list expected to grow again here on Easter Sunday.
Longtime Canuck Chris Tanev is understandably concerned. He's already checked in with some of his former 'mates, and the seriousness of the situation has him thinking about when - if at all - the B.C. squad will return to the ice this year.
"First and foremost, you hope everyone's OK," Tanev said. "Obviously, that's the most important thing.
"Going from there, who knows what's going to happen? The league is going to make the call on that, how long they're going to be shut down, or if we're going to play make-up games or whatnot. I think everyone is still waiting to see what's going to happen with that."
Certainly, as Tanev alluded to, hockey takes a back seat in a situation like this. The new P.1 variant of COVID-19 has proven to be more transmissible, and it seems to be increasingly affecting the younger population in the lower mainland.
Here in Alberta, the province's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said a "significant" outbreak of that same variant of concern (or VOC) has now been detected, and work is ongoing to contain it.
The Flames have been extremely diligent in following all protocols, including daily testing, masking at all times (unless you're a player on the ice), social distancing in the locker-room, staggered entry times - on and on.
"Thus far, the Canadian Division had been pretty good," Tanev said. "Obviously, Montreal had their positives and now Vancouver, so the restrictions are there and are in place for a reason, and obviously so far this year, we've been able to follow them the best we can.
"I hope we can continue to do that as the year progresses here."

While the NHL will make every effort to play all 56 regular-season games this year, the runaway is getting shorter.
That has the players thinking about the different scenarios at play if they can't.
For example, will points percentage be a viable solution to determine the four playoff teams?
Either way, it certainly sheds light on the importance of this back-to-back set with the Maple Leafs. The Flames are currently scheduled to face the Canucks on Thursday and Saturday of this week, but at this point, both are very much in doubt.
"I think that's a good possibility, for sure," Tanev said of a 'shortened' regular season. "There's a chance that maybe we don't play all the games that we have, so we've got to win the games that we're playing in right now to have a shot here. ... 100%, massive games for us."
The Leafs (24-10-3) are rolling right now, going 5-0-1 in their last six and sitting alone atop the North Division standings, four points clear of the Oilers and Jets.
But the Flames have actually played the Leafs quite well this year and David Rittich - who seems likely get the start in goal tonight - is 1-1-1 against them, with .962 save percentage and 1.35 goals-against average, with one shutout.
"These two games are going to be big for us," said Toronto native Andrew Mangiapane, who has one goal against his hometown troupe this year. "We could be off for another week after that if we don't play against Vancouver. We don't know what's going to happen, but it puts more light on the situation that we've got to hopefully win these next two games and play hard."
With the Montreal Canadiens dropping a 6-3 decision to the Ottawa Senators last night, the Flames remain six points back of that fourth and final playoff point - although, the Habs do have four games in hand.
It's an uphill climb, to be sure, but no one in that Flames dressing room has lost faith.
They'll be looking to show that here tonight.
"You've got to be firing on all cylinders against them," Tanev said. "They don't give up much, they don't give up very many odd-man rushes, so you've got to be able to play a 2-1 game, a 1-0 game, 2-0. The way they play, they're so structured defensively and they forecheck extremely well. They get a lot of pucks back and they have a great powerplay.
"They're doing all the right things right now and we have to match that intensity and even step it up a level here."