Who will Flyers have vs. Pens? Good question after 2 more hit COVID protocol

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The Flyers had two more players enter the NHL's COVID protocol Wednesday night.

Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim were added to the list, joining Claude Giroux, Ivan Provorov, Nick Seeler and Jackson Cates.

After a 1-2-1 West Coast road trip, the Flyers flew back from California on Wednesday and arrived to the Philadelphia area in the late afternoon.

Giroux and Provorov hit protocol Tuesday after Seeler and Cates went on Monday.

During his pregame media availability Tuesday around 7:40 p.m. ET, Flyers interim head coach Mike Yeo said all four players were currently asymptomatic.

The Flyers are scheduled to open a three-game homestand Thursday when they welcome the Penguins (7 p.m. ET/ESPN+, Hulu).

A little less than a week ago, following the new CDC isolation guidelines, the NHL and NHLPA agreed to adjust its COVID protocol. The league decided to trim its isolation period of 10 days to five days for a player who tests positive and is fully vaccinated.

If a player has no symptoms or his symptoms are resolving, they're permitted to return following five days as long as they have a negative lab-based RT-PCR test and the requirements adhere with local health laws.

Unless something changes, it appears the Flyers won't have Konecny, Sanheim, Giroux, Provorov, Seeler or Cates against Pittsburgh.

We'll see.

Carter Hart and Scott Laughton missed the first three games of the Flyers' four-game trip because of COVID protocols.

"It's tough, for sure," Hart said Tuesday after the Flyers' 4-1 loss to the Ducks. "Guys are testing positive with no symptoms or mild symptoms. I mean, the league's got to find a way to change that. We're either going to keep playing shorthanded all season long or games are going to keep getting postponed. I think it's a joke. It's got to change."

The Flyers are not the only team dealing with COVID-related hurdles. Postponements and absences have been league-wide.

Near the end of last month, the league reinstated taxi squads, which can hold up to six reserve players.

When the Flyers face Penguins, they could be without:

  • Travis Konecny (COVID protocol)
  • Travis Sanheim (COVID protocol)
  • Claude Giroux (COVID protocol)
  • Ivan Provorov (COVID protocol)
  • Sean Couturier (upper body)
  • Ryan Ellis (lower body)
  • Derick Brassard (hip)
  • Nick Seeler (COVID protocol)
  • Jackson Cates (COVID protocol)
  • Nate Thompson (shoulder)

Update: Undermanned Flyers have extremely tall order against red-hot Penguins

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