Joel Armia, Montreal Canadiens forward, has been exempted from COVID-19 protocol. He could now play against the Tampa Bay Lightning Game 1 in the Stanley Cup Final.

Luke Richardson, acting coach, said Armia was flying a private plane from Helsinki to Tampa. This was considered a game-time choice. After going into protocol, the forward from Finland missed practice Sunday.

Richardson stated that Joel is currently on his way to Amalie Arena. Richardson spoke after the team’s morning skating session. He was cleared. We are excited to have him join our team, but we have to make all the decisions during game time as we don’t know when.

Richardson was asked if Armia had tested negative but he said that he did, and was then informed that the 28-year old was on his way.

Armia was an important player for Canadiens during the playoffs. He scored two of the five shorthanded goals as part of their penalty killing that is 43 out of 46.

Joel Edmundson, Montreal defenseman, said that “He’s been an important piece of our team during these playoffs.” He’s been a great player, especially on our penalty kill.

Jake Evans, if Armia is not available to play, would be in Montreal’s starting lineup for the first-time since being hurt by Mark Scheifele of Winnipeg in Game 1 in the second round. Scheifele was charged with hitting Evans in the last seconds of that series’ opener and was therefore suspended for four games.

TWEETS FROM THE HALL OF FAME

To be inducted into the Hall of Fame, hockey players must have a long and successful career on the ice. All you have to do is send a great tweet.

Twitter and the NHL invite fans to send tweets about what winning the Stanley Cup would mean to them. The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto will honor the 52 top-ranked teams with a silver plate.

“The idea was to find a way for fans to be recognized for their dedication in the same way as we would with players,” Heidi Browning, NHL executive vice president and chief market officer, said.

On the day of Game 1, between the Montreal Canadiens (and the Tampa Bay Lightning) the #StanleyTweets social-media initiative launches. The Lightning are trying to win back-to-back, while the Canadiens are aiming for their first title since 1993.

“Back in 1993, you’d ask, ‘How’s this going to work?,” Phil Pritchard, Hockey Hall of Fame Cup Keeper, said. It’s natural that social media has influenced everything and fans have been instrumental in creating social media sites for their teams and cheering on their favorite teams and players.

The objective is to select 52 tweets in multiple languages to correspond with the 52 names that the Cup winner team receives each season. Sean Dennison, NHL social media director, stated that the goal is to create tweets that evoke emotion with sentimentality and some humor.

He stated, “We want it to be as symbolic as the Cup and since 52 people get on the Cup let’s acknowledge 52 fans.” “The modern fan experience is all about social media, especially Twitter. It captures what people say, which I believe is an important part of our story and for winning the Stanley Cup.

STATUS QUO LIGNING

Tampa Bay will likely use the same lineup against Montreal for the series opener as it used against Montreal in Friday’s semifinal clincher. This means that Nikita Kucherov, winger, will be playing against Tampa Bay after missing Game 6 Wednesday due to an undisclosed injury. He now claims it never happened.

Kucherov stated Sunday that there was no injury. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It feels good. It’s all good.”