The Boston Bruins are being hit hard by COVID-19 right now, and they've now lost their two best players -- Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand -- to the NHL's protocols.
The Bruins announced Wednesday morning that Bergeron has entered the COVID-19 protocol. Marchand and Craig Smith were placed in the COVID-19 protocol on Tuesday. Bergeron played and scored Boston's only goal in its 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night at TD Garden.
This means half of Boston's top two lines are now sidelined, and it's unknown whether more players will join Bergeron, Marchand and Smith in the coming days.
The Bruins still have three more games this week -- Thursday against the Islanders, Saturday against the Canadiens and Sunday against the Senators -- all on the road.
The league should seriously consider postponing one or more of these games to help prevent the spread of this virus. The Bruins played the Calgary Flames on Saturday. Calgary has nine players and a staff member in the COVID protocol.