Lightning's Stanley Cup title defense starts with safety protocols

Last season, the Lightning won arguably the toughest championship in more than a century of NHL history.
"It's going to take a lot of discipline, from the players and the staff and their families," BriseBois said.
Our players did a phenomenal job last summer staying safe, following the protocol, limiting the exposure -- or the risk, I guess, of contracting [COVID-19] -- and it's going to be very different this year.".
"It's going to be difficult, but the NHL, our teams, have done a great job of putting all these different protocols in place, and it's up to us as players to follow them.".
The COVID-19 protocol is 54 pages and starts with basics like staying home, wearing masks and physically distancing.
The travel protocol is 13 pages and includes transportation, dining and shopping restrictions.
"It's going to be very demanding for all of us, myself included," BriseBois said.
The positive test protocol is 13 pages and lays out scenarios for those who test positive or have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive
The Lightning already will be without one of the best players in the NHL, forward Nikita Kucherov, for the regular season while he recovers from hip surgery
"It's very heightened in this shortened season," defenseman Ryan McDonagh said
"I think that's been the message from management and talking to players on our group, that if you get it, or you get on the exposure list even, you could potentially be missing four to eight games, and that's a huge chunk of this shortened season
"It's only a natural progression as we move forward and the vaccine comes out to kind of let your guard down, but we have to make sure we don't, especially these next few months," coach Jon Cooper said