Nikita Zaitsev is ninth Senators player in COVID protocol

Ottawa Senators defenseman Nikita Zaitsev. Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Nikita Zaitsev becomes ninth Senators player in COVID-19 protocol

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 11/11/21

The NHL may soon have to step in and take the 3-8-1 Ottawa Senators off the ice for a few days for the good of everyone involved.

Ottawa confirmed ahead of Thursday's game against the 7-5-1 Los Angeles Kings that defenseman Nikita Zaitsev was placed in the league's COVID-19 protocol. Zaitsev became the club's ninth player currently unavailable due to coronavirus-related guidelines:

Roster update: The #Sens have placed defenceman Nikita Zaitsev in the NHL's COVID-19 protocol.

In Zaitsev's absence, Lassi Thomson will make his @NHL debut this evening vs Los Angeles.
— Sens Communications (@Media_Sens) November 11, 2021

Earlier in the day, forward Alex Formenton and goaltender Matt Murray joined forwards Austin Watson, Dylan Gambrell and Connor Brown, defensemen Josh Brown, Victor Mete and Nick Holden, and associate coach Jack Capuano on the COVID-19 list.

#Sens defenseman Lassi Thomson making his NHL debut as Nikita Zaitsev becomes 9th player from Ottawa to be placed in COVID-19 protocol.

Solo lap treatment for the Finnish rookie. pic.twitter.com/XTwk4lDWMO
— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) November 11, 2021

According to TSN's Darren Dreger, chief medical officers from the NHL and NHL Players' Association are monitoring Ottawa's potential COVID-19 crisis.

"All you can do is try to protect yourself as much as possible," Senators coach D.J. Smith said hours before Zaitsev went into the protocol, per The Canadian Press (h/t CBC). "Try to wear a mask, try to distance yourself and stay inside your certain circles. But at this point, it's really tough because your circle is the group that has it."

Ottawa is scheduled to host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday evening, but the statuses of any near-future matchups are up in the air pending additional testing.

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