The St. Louis Blues had to cancel practices at their team facility due to "multiple" positive coronavirus tests, according to a report from Jeremy Rutherford and Scott Burnside of The Athletic. The team does not see this as a huge setback, as practices are expected to resume on Monday, per the report.
The Blues were using the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Mo., for their practices. The facilities were used on Thursday, but had the Phase 2 workouts had to be canceled on Friday due to the positive tests. The team was not expected to practice on either day of the weekend, and even players looking to squeeze in individual workouts will be allowed to do so. The facility, which has three ice rinks and a private dressing room for the Blues, was open to the public Friday.
Two-thirds of the Blues roster was reportedly skating at the facility this week, according to the report. That total came just a couple of weeks after the Blues opened their facilities on June 22.
This isn't the first NHL team, or even the first American sports franchise, to be forced into this situation. Back on June 19, the Tampa Bay Lightning had to close their practice facilities after three players tested positive for COVID-19. The Heat, Nuggets, and Clippers of the NBA also had to do something similar at their respective facilities. At the time the Lightning shut down their practices, the league was only allowing teams to begin skating in groups of six players at one time -- a policy that began on June 8.
