Penguins D Olli Maatta on Friday "became the 16th player to test positive for the mumps" in the NHL this season, and though only five of 30 teams "have been affected during the month-long outbreak, no one is taking chances with a virus that, much like the flu, can spread easily in close quarters," according to Nancy Armour of USA TODAY. If there is "even the slightest chance of a player having the mumps, he's pulled off the ice -- and away from his teammates." Blackhawks C Andrew Shaw on Friday said, "We're always washing our hands" (USATODAY.com, 12/19). Panthers D Willie Mitchell said of the mumps, "I read up on it and, obviously, no one wants to go through with it. It’s not something you want to roll the dice with. I would have liked to see the league do something earlier, but I guess it took one of our star players [Penguins C Sidney Crosby] getting it to raise the awareness. I guess that’s how the world works" (MIAMI HERALD, 12/20). In N.Y., Larry Brooks wrote he "would have liked" the league office "to assume a more forceful and public face regarding the mumps outbreak." But NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly have "taken a responsible approach to the matter by refusing to blow it out of proportion with screaming bold-print proclamations just to prove THAT THEY WERE DOING SOMETHING!" An uninfected Rangers player said, "It isn't Ebola" (N.Y. POST, 12/21).
STOPPING THE SPREAD: In Pittsburgh, Sean Hamill cited a doctor as saying that the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh "will discuss raising awareness of possible infections with visiting sports teams in the future" in the wake of the Penguins' visit on Dec. 11, "just two days before one of them began showing symptoms of having the mumps." The Penguins "had not confirmed that anyone on their team had mumps before their visit." Penguins RW Beau Bennett started showing symptoms two days after visiting Children's, "putting him within the two-day window of being infectious when he visited the hospital." Penguins President & CEO David Morehouse said, "It’s an unfortunate situation and we hope the kids are okay" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 12/20). YAHOO SPORTS' Nicholas Cotsonika wrote under the header, "The NHL, The Mumps, And The 'Gross' Game Of Hockey." Germs "can spread in school classrooms," but "think of how they can spread in NHL dressing rooms, bench areas or ice rinks" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 12/19).