Montreal Canadiens forward Joel Armia has been placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol and won’t travel with the team to Tampa Bay on Sunday, a day before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
General manager Marc Bergevin made the announcement after Armia was not at practice in Montreal before the Canadiens traveled to play the Lightning.
It’s unclear how long Armia will be in the protocol or whether he tested positive. Armia spent 19 days in the protocol from March 22 to April 9.
Armia has already posted playoff career bests with five goals and eight points in 17 games while playing on what’s considered Montreal’s energy line rounded out by veterans Corey Perry and Eric Staal.
The Canadiens are without interim coach Dominique Ducharme, who remains in isolation since testing positive for COVID on June 18.
Assistant coach Luke Richardson has taken over bench duties, with Ducharme not scheduled to return until Friday, when the Canadiens host Game 3. Ducharme missed the final four games of Montreal’s six-game semifinal series win over Vegas.
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