McElhinney, Coleman placed on NHL's COVID-19 protocol list

The Tampa Bay Lightning have two players on the National Hockey League's unavailable due to COVID-19 protocol list, and what that means for their status going forward is unknown according to head coach Jon Cooper.
Lightning backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney was placed on the list Saturday and wasn't allowed to participate when the team returned to practice Monday at the TGH Ice Plex following two days off for the team over the weekend.
Bolts forward Blake Coleman also didn't skate Monday, the team announcing during practice he would also be placed on the Covid-related protocol list.

In their absence, Christopher Gibson served as the backup goalie at Monday's practice and Mathieu Joseph moved into Coleman's place on the third line. Alexander Volkov and Gemel Smith split time as the fourth line right wing, where Joseph had been lining up.

"We're taking this day by day," Cooper answered when asked about McElhinney's and Coleman's availability for the upcoming four-game road trip, which starts Thursday in Columbus. "With the protocols and the protection and just making sure that everybody's safe first and foremost, but we've got guys that can slot in here and fill these positions and that's why there's a taxi squad. So in case somebody has to miss one, two, three days or two weeks, these guys can slot in. That's part of winning. You're not going to be able to go with the same 20. Whether it's following the protocol or somebody sprains their ankle, guys has to step in, and we're prepared for that."
The Lightning had already been affected by COVID-19, if not directly, before the news about McElhinney and Coleman. Tampa Bay was scheduled to close out its four-game homestand to start the 2020-21 season with games against the Dallas Stars Sunday and Tuesday in a rematch of the Stanley Cup Final the two teams contested about four months ago.
Both of those contests had to be postponed and rescheduled for May, however, when a Covid outbreak hit the Stars training camp and forced them to pause activities. That the Lightning even had two days off over the weekend underscores just how flexible they'll have to be this season with players potentially going in and out of the lineup, games postponed or practice dates altered due to the pandemic.

"It's a difficult time for everybody right now, for the whole world," Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy said. "This uncertainty, it started a year ago since the pause in the NHL. We kind of got used to it now, and we're just moving forward. We can control what we can, and we're just trying to stay ready for the next game. Some things are out of control but nothing we can do about that. We're just trying to stay positive and stay ready for the future."
Cooper said the silver lining in the newfound days off and extra practice time was a chance to continue a training camp of sorts. Their original, condensed camp lasted a little over a week before the season opener. For the head coach, the games against Chicago Wednesday and Friday - both victories in which the Lightning never trailed - were almost like preseason games in a normal season, and now it's back to the practice rink to reiterate positive habits and work on areas of their game that need improvement after having the opportunity to play an opposing team for the first time.
Patrick Maroon, however, said he'd rather play than practice, a sentiment echoed by Vasilevskiy.

"You just want to play hockey at this point, you know what I mean," Maroon said. "You just want to get in the flow of things. You can practice all you want, but practice is totally different than game pace. You want to be in a mix of things. You want to be playing every other day. You want to feel that grind. You want to get people leaning on you, get mentally into it. You want people to be physical with you. You want to be engaged yourself. You want to make sure your timing's back. Obviously practice and reps is really good for you, but I think it's totally different when you go out there and play a game. That's going to happen throughout the year, so we just have to deal with it."
If there's one NHL team equipped to handle the curveballs the 2020-21 regular season will undoubtedly throw their way, it's this Tampa Bay Lightning group that remained resilient through 65 days spent isolated between bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton and persevered to hoist the Stanley Cup, a goal that had eluded them in previous seasons.
"The team that comes out of this has got to be mentally strong and knowing there's going to be times we're off for two weeks. There's going to be times where players are off for two weeks. We're going to be playing with a different linemate. Lineups are going to be changing so many times. Mentally, you've just got to go out there and play," Maroon said. "…I think we have a really strong team mentally. You saw that last year in the bubble, so I think we've just got to keep going, keep grinding and we're all a team in here and we're all fighting for each other to be healthy, safe and do good things."