Sabres coach Ralph Krueger marked his return to practice Sunday with an upbeat but cautionary message following a 10-day bout with what he called B次元官网网址渕oderately severe symptomsB次元官网网址� of COVID-19.

B次元官网网址淒efinitely a time to realize how lethal this COVID is,B次元官网网址� the 61-year-old Krueger said, while expressing relief his wife hasnB次元官网网址檛 been infected. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 feeling quite well but, of course, scarred by the experience.B次元官网网址�

The first month of the NHLB次元官网网址檚 pandemic-shortened season has been a bumpy one. The Sabres are among eight teams that paused their seasons, and 35 games have been postponed. From Jan. 13 through Saturday, 120 players from 26 of 31 teams have spent at least one day on the COVID-19 list. Some tested positive, others were identified as close contacts and a few had to quarantine after travelling from another country.

Buffalo is set to return from a 15-day break by hosting the New York Islanders on Monday. The Colorado Avalanche resumed play at Vegas on Sunday. Minnesota and New Jersey are scheduled to return Tuesday, while the Philadelphia Flyers, who currently have seven players on the NHL COVID-19 list, are on pause until at least Thursday.

The NHL completed last seasonB次元官网网址檚 playoffs in tightly secured bubbles in Toronto and Edmonton, Alberta. Without those, outbreaks were considered inevitable.

B次元官网网址淭his is the new normal, unfortunately,B次元官网网址� Golden Knights forward Mark Stone said. B次元官网网址淚 think youB次元官网网址檙e a little bit na茂ve to think we were going to go through a whole season without one guy testing positive. I think now weB次元官网网址檙e learning as a group and as a league.B次元官网网址�

The NBA had a three-week head start on the NHL, and after an initial rash of postponements and more than 20 positive cases, the NBA has had just 13 players test positive since the NHL began play.

WhatB次元官网网址檚 in question is how quickly the NHL addressed concerns before enhancing its safety protocols twice over the past two weeks, including the introduction of game-day rapid testing for players, staff and on-ice officials.

The tipping point coincided with the Sabres hosting New Jersey for a two-game series on Jan. 30 and 31, when the league allowed the second game to be played after two players were added to the DevilsB次元官网网址� COVID-19 list following BuffaloB次元官网网址檚 4-3 shootout win.

New Jersey, which peaked with a league-high 19 players on the list, had its season paused a day later. The Sabres then had as many as nine players sidelined at once, plus Krueger.

The NHL had 22 players on the COVID-19 list on Jan. 30, and that number ballooned to a season-high 59 on Friday. The number dropped to 45 on Saturday, its first decrease since Jan. 29.

Krueger questioned the NHLB次元官网网址檚 decision to proceed with the second game of the Sabres-Devils series by calling it B次元官网网址渁 rough weekend,B次元官网网址� but heB次元官网网址檚 praised the league for how it has responded since.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 happy the NHL has been as constructive as possible in learning from the experience that we had,B次元官网网址� Krueger said. B次元官网网址淪o it seems to make it worthwhile.B次元官网网址�

Sabres forward Taylor Hall believes the league has learned from what happened.

B次元官网网址淭his is everyoneB次元官网网址檚 first time going through this, and thereB次元官网网址檚 going to be mistakes that are not on purpose,B次元官网网址� said Hall, who tested positive but was asymptomatic while spending 10 days in isolation before being cleared on Saturday. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e all trying our best here. And I donB次元官网网址檛 think anyone deserves more blame than anyone else.B次元官网网址�

The decision to add rapid tests came after Vegas forward Tomas Nosek was allowed to play the first two periods against Anaheim on Tuesday, before being pulled as a result of a positive test.

Rapid tests return results within a half hour and augment the PCR daily tests which were already taking place. Though more accurate, PCR tests require a 12-24 hour turnaround.

B次元官网网址淭he more information we have, the quicker it is, the better off everybody is,B次元官网网址� Vegas coach Peter DeBoer said. B次元官网网址淭he one thing I can take comfort in is I know the NHL is putting the playersB次元官网网址� safety first. But this is a messy, messy thing weB次元官网网址檙e dealing with.B次元官网网址�

The St. Louis Blues are the only U.S.-based team to not have a player land on the COVID-19 list, with the other four based in Canada: Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.

And yet, the vagaries of the coronavirus donB次元官网网址檛 diminish fears of a Canadian team being affected.

B次元官网网址淭his thing is so uncontrollable, and you donB次元官网网址檛 really know where itB次元官网网址檚 coming from,B次元官网网址� Oilers captain Connor McDavid said. B次元官网网址淚 think a lot of it is just flat-out luck.B次元官网网址�

McDavid spoke hours before the Oilers placed forward Jesse Puljujarvi on their COVID-19 list, before he was removed two days later.

In Buffalo, Krueger is taking a day-at-a-time approach in determining when heB次元官网网址檒l return, with assistant Steve Smith set to take over on an interim basis.

Smith can appreciate how quickly situations can change based on the daily COVID-19 results that pop up in his inbox.

B次元官网网址淓very morning, I have a pit in my stomach wondering whether itB次元官网网址檚 going to be my day,B次元官网网址� Smith said. B次元官网网址淭he first thing I do is I look at my phone and see whether itB次元官网网址檚 positive or negative from the day before. I look for the green button, and when IB次元官网网址檓 green, IB次元官网网址檓 a happy guy.B次元官网网址�

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell contributed to this report.

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John Wawrow, The Associated Press

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