OK Daily: Golden Knights Lead the Western Conference, COVID Quarantine Reduced

The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Los Angeles Kings last night in a high-scoring affair. With the win, the Golden Knights are now first in both the Pacific Division and in the NHL’s Western Conference.

The NHL announced today that through the new guidelines from the CDC, isolation time for COVID-19 can be reduced to five days if allowed by local health authorities. This could mean that the Golden Knights could get back Evgenii Dadonov, Alex Pietrangelo, Brett Howden, and head coach Peter DeBoer back sooner than expected.

NEWS: #NHL has officially shortened isolation period to 5 days with a negative test – IF allowed by local health authorities.#NHL now in line with CDC guidelines, according to memo distributed to teams today which was obtained by @DailyFaceoff.

Here’s the updated protocol ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/XLp9Ghq0va

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) December 29, 2021

NHL News, Trade Rumors, and National Hockey Now

Pittsburgh: The Penguins will not play until at least Sunday night but they have been using this time off to get healthy. Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, and Jake Guentzel could all return soon.

For the first time this season, the line of Rust, Guentzel, and Sidney Crosby could finally be reunited.

Boston: It looks like Tuukka Rask is inching closer to a return to the NHL and the Boston Bruins. Rask will likely start in the American Hockey League with the Providence Bruins.

Brad Marchand also had some words for the NHL and their Olympic Decision on Tuesday.

pic.twitter.com/UZ93Xll89s

— Brad Marchand (@Bmarch63) December 28, 2021

Colorado: Captain Gabriel Landeskog is set to return for the Colorado Avalanche. The only problem is, we have little clue as to when that can be with the Avs’ rapidly changing schedule.

Long Island: Could the New York Islanders look into trading Semyon Varlamov?

Washington: Nic Dowd and Garnet Hathaway reflect on their friendship together.

Montreal: The Canadiens found a way to lose last night against the Tampa Bay Lightning as Ondrej Palat scored the game-winning goal.

Sportsnet: William Karlsson highlights Shayna Goldman’s list of seven players to watch out for in 2022.

Sportsnet: The upcoming Winter Classic between the St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild is set to be one of the coldest games in NHL history with a projected low of -26 degrees celsius.

TSN: An updated look at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championships which has seen a handful of games affected by COVID-19.