NHL postpones 12 games amid COVID-19 concerns

The NHL and its players association temporarily clamped down on teams crossing the Canadian border and shut down operations of a sixth team on Sunday in hopes of salvaging the season as COVID-19 outbreaks spread across the league.

The Detroit Red Wings were added to the list of teams told to shut down operations, joining the Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins. Detroit’s home game against Colorado on Monday previously had been postponed and will not take place as scheduled, and the Red Wings’ trip to Minnesota for Thursday’s game was called off.

Canadian-based teams will not play U.S.-based teams from Monday through Thursday, with those postponed games expected be rescheduled.

“We will continue to play the 2021-22 regular season schedule,” the NHL and NHLPA said Sunday in a joint statement. “Although there has been a recent increase in positive COVID test results among players, coaches and hockey staff, there have been a low number of positive cases that have resulted in concerning symptoms or serious illness.”

All told, 27 games have been postponed through Saturday and 12 more through Thursday will be pushed to another date. Roughly 10 percent of the 700-plus players were in virus protocol as of Saturday.

The Los Angeles Kings were supposed to host the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday, but that’s been postponed. Kings coach Todd McLellan said it’s “a very uneasy time right now for the players and the people who are involved in the game.”

To slow the spread of the coronavirus, the NHL and the NHLPA agreed to daily testing and other enhanced protocols through Jan. 1.