NHL Postpone More Games Due to COVID-19

The NHL has been forced to postpone a handful of games over the past few weeks thanks to COVID-19. That doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, either. Monday, Feb. 8, it was announced that three more games would be postponed for the New Jersey Devils because of the pandemic. The team has had several games postponed for this reason so far. Additionally, the games versus the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins that were originally scheduled to be played this week will be pushed back until a later date.

Teams Who Have Postponed Games

Monday, Feb. 8 marked the day when the Devils placed three of their players on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list. This included Connor Carrick, Nico Hischier and Sami Vatanen.

The last time the Devils took to the ice was Jan. 31 against the Buffalo Sabres, who have had their own COVID-19 related problems, as well. Along with postponing some games, the Devils have even closed its facilities to active players a week ago.

The Devils postponement of games will indeed affect the Philadelphia Flyers, who are scheduled to play against the Washington Capitals Feb. 9 (today). After that, they won’t play another game this week.

The Sabres games for Feb. 11 and 13 against the Washington Capitals were postponed. In addition, their Feb. 15 matchup against the Boston Bruins was also postponed. The last time the Sabres hit the ice was on Jan. 31 when they were defeated by the Devils in a 5-3 loss.

Next up is the Minnesota Wild. The games against the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings on Feb. 11 and Feb. 13 have also been postponed. The Wild hasn’t played since Feb. 2 in a 2-1 defeat versus the Colorado Avalanche.

There have also been players added to the COVID-19 protocol list over the last week or so. Casey Mittelstadt, Dylan Cozens and Tobias Rieder were added earlier this month.

A couple of days ago, it was announced that Wild’s defenseman Brad Hunt was added to the protocol list, too. He is joined by eight of his teammates. There has been no information regarding when Hunt or any of his teammates will be able to resume play.

What Is Next for the NHL

The NHL has much work on their hands to do at this point. The NHL Player’s Association (NHLPA) will have to make a decision soon on the course of action they plan to take in regards to the team’s return to practice and rescheduling games.

As for right now, nothing else has been officially announced regarding more game postponements or a reschedule of any of these games. But that may come in the next few days.

It seems that the NHL has been flustered with many game postponements over the past few weeks since the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, it appears that significantly more games have been postponed as we progress further into the season.

Consequently, this is a problem that will likely grow even more as the season continues. To clarify, there is a possibility that more games will be postponed in the ne

Not All NHL Games have Been Postponed

There is some good news coming from this unfortunate situation. There are many games that will still be played as scheduled this week. For example, the Ottawa Senators/Edmonton Oilers matchup will be played today at 6 p.m. and the Detroit Red Wings/Florida Panthers will hit the ice tonight as well.

Additionally, there are a few other games scheduled for tonight that will be played as expected.

Please be sure to stay tuned to the latest news regarding NHL games, more postponements, rescheduled games, and more.

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