After being pulled from a game after two periods last week due to COVID-19 protocols, Dallas Stars head coach Rick Bowness has been cleared to re-join the team.
Bowness was pulled from Dallas' game against the Carolina Hurricanes last Sunday due to a positive test result for COVID-19. However, the result that led to his exit has since been ruled a false positive, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Following Sunday's game, Stars GM Jim Nill said Bowness is fully vaccinated, having received two shots, and the club believed the result would be found to be a false positive.
"He was a very low grade, but it is still positive. Out of safety concerns, he was pulled," Nill said at the time. "But yes he has been vaccinated. His first vaccination was back sometime in January. He's had both vaccinations."
Nill said the team was in contact with the league and both parties decided to remove Bowness, the league's oldest coach at 66 years old, from the game as a precaution.
The Stars took on Chicago on Tuesday without Bowness — assistant coach John Stevens running the bench in his absence — falling 4-2 against the Blackhawks.
Dallas' next game comes on Thursday in another tilt against Chicago. The team currently sits third-last in the Central Division with a points percentage of .486 and a 13-14-10 record.
