Canadiens Place Five More Players In COVID-19 Protocol

The Montreal Canadiens have placed Jake Allen, Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry, Chris Wideman and Joel Edmundson in COVID-19 protocol. That brings their total up to nine, as Laurent Dauphin, Mike Hoffman, Artturi Lehkonen and Tyler Toffoli are all sidelined because of it.

The Canadiens are currently scheduled to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night. With their cases starting to go up significantly, it seems rather probable that this contest will be postponed.

Allen is obviously a notable name on this list, as he's the team's starting goaltender with Carey Price unavailable. It's been a hard year for the veteran, though. He currently has a 5-15-2 record, 3.10 GAA and .903 SV%.

Chiarot is one of the biggest rental candidates this season, as he's a veteran defenseman with an expiring contract. In 31 games so far this season, he has five goals and two assists. With that, he has a minus-11 rating.

After recording 42 points in 55 games last season, Jeff Petry has struggled immensely this campaign for Montreal. In 27 games, he shockingly only has two assists. Keep in mind, he had at least 40 points over his previous four seasons.

After returning to North America for this season, Wideman has looked pretty solid. In 22 games thus far, he has two goals to along with nine total points. He's certainly making a case for himself to land another NHL contract next summer.

Edmundson being placed in protocol doesn't impact the Canadiens' lineup. He hasn't played yet this season because he's still healing from a lower-body injury. Still, though, this obviously doesn't do him any favors.