Penguins follow NHL's lead on coronavirus precautions
NEWARK, N.J. — Even the Pittsburgh Penguins’ most fearless player was taking precautions.
As reporters gathered in a hallway outside the visiting team’s dressing room at Prudential Center, Patric Hornqvist walked around the corner and protected himself.
He covered his face with the lapel on his suit coat.
Hornqvist’s antics were in jest (maybe), but they were representative of a strange new world the Penguins, the NHL, sports and the world at large as coronavirus impacts seemingly every walk of life.
The Penguins and Devils, at the direction of the NHL, closed access to their dressing room to everyone other than players and essential team personnel in an attempt to prevent the virus from spreading further in a realm such as a NHL dressing room, which is already highly unsanitary.
That meant interviews typically done in scrum around a player’s locker stall or in a one-on-one setting were conducted en masse against a wall in the hallway with a retractable belt stanchion separating players and coaches from media by approximately three feet.
It was unclear if the retractable belt stanchion provided by Prudential Center met the standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While the warnings and cancellations seemingly change by the hour, one thing is certain with the Penguins.
They are following the NHL’s lead.
“It’s something that is completely out of our control,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’re taking the direction of the league and the CDC, and we trust that they’re going to advise us the right way. We’ll cooperate in that regard. Our doctors have been in constant contact with the infectious disease people at UPMC in trying to strategize and make sure we do everything internally that we can to do our best to do the right thing. That’s all we can do.”
Having been one of several Penguins players stricken during a mumps outbreak during the 2014-15 season, forward Sidney Crosby has firsthand knowledge of what can happen in a scenario such as this.
“It’s just something that you have to deal with,” Crosby said. “It’s not always expected, but sometimes these things come up. You hope everyone can stay healthy and avoid it. But there’s measures that have to be taken sometimes. You just have to go with it. You can’t overthink it, overanalyze it. Listen to everything that’s recommended and go from there.”
Before the game, the Devils issued a statement requesting fans who have been diagnosed with covid-19, traveled from a high-risk area (as deemed by the CDC) or come in contact with anyone diagnosed with covid-19 to not attend.
“It’s a little scary to think that it seems like it’s inching a little closer to affecting more people around here,” forward Conor Sheary said. “But I think people are taking the right steps and you’re getting the right information from the right people.
On Tuesday, Ohio governor Mike Dewine recommended indoor events be staged without “spectators other than the athletes, parents, and others essential to the game.”
In response, the Columbus Blue Jackets issued a statement indicating their upcoming games, including Friday’s contest against the Penguins at Nationwide Arena, will go on as scheduled with ticketed fans in attendance.
With Germany’s DEL and Austria’s EBEL leagues canceling their seasons as a precaution against the virus, the Penguins appear to have a proper perspective on the matter.
“Everybody watches the news and reads the newspapers and understand that this is something that is a global challenge,” Sullivan said. “This isn’t just affecting our small domain in pro sports. This is affecting the entire globe. All we can do is focus on those things that we can control. We will follow the direction of the (NHL) and the CDC and listen to our doctors, as well. We trust that we’re going to do the right thing for us.”
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.