NHL will return Jan. 13, play 56-game season
Hockey is set to return Jan. 13 after the NHL and players completed a deal Sunday to hold a 56-game season that would include playoffs lasting into July to award the Stanley Cup.
The league’s Board of Governors voted to approve the agreement that was backed by the NHL Players’ Association executive board Friday night. The regular season is scheduled to go until May 8 with a 16-team playoff to follow.
The season will be highly unusual in at least one respect: There will be four divisions — North, South, East and West — and all play will be within divisions to minimize travel and the potential for the coronavirus to disrupt the season. The North Division contains only the seven Canadian teams.
“It is the current plan to play games in the home arenas of participating teams while understanding that most arenas will not, at least in the initial part of the season, be able to host fans,” the NHL said.
The league is allowing for the possibility of playing games at neutral sites if needed. Final details on where the Canadian teams will play are still pending until there are agreements with federal and provincial health officials.
Still, the hurdles won’t be enough to prevent the season from starting without a quarantined bubble.
“The National Hockey League looks forward to the opening of our 2020-21 season,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “While we are well aware of the challenges ahead, as was the case last spring and summer, we are continuing to prioritize the health and safety of our participants and the communities in which we live
and play.”
ETC.
Golf: Justin Thomas
● and Tiger Woods traded text messages on the eve of the final round at the PNC Championship in Orlando, their teams tied for the
lead and in contention. Neither mentioned winning. This was about Woods getting to play alongside 11-year-old son Charlie, watching him twirl the club after a good drive and yes, even deliver a fist pump in his red shirt
Sunday. For Thomas, it was about competing with his father, Mike, a longtime club professional in Kentucky and the only coach he’s ever had. Team Thomas birdied the opening seven holes and the father delivered a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that gave them a 15-under 57 in the scramble format and a one-shot victory over Vijay Singh and son Qass.
… Top-ranked Jin Young Ko put an emphatic capper on her truncated year by shooting a 6-under 66 and winning the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples by five strokes over Hannah Green and Sei Young Kim. … Brandon Matthews won the Puerta Plata Open for his second PGA Tour Latinoamerica title, closing with a 6-under 65 for a five-stroke victory. Fellow American Jacob Bergeron was second.
Soccer: Manchester
●
United waited 16 years to play old rival Leeds in the
English Premier League, and then made it look distinctly second-class. United charged to a 6-2 victory, though both teams could easily have scored more, as it roared back into the EPL title race in third. … Karim Benzema scored one goal and set up another to lead Real Madrid to a 3-1 win at Eibar, keeping the defending champions level on points with Atletico Madrid at the top of the Spanish league. … Rafael Leao scored the fastest goal in Serie A history, netting after just six seconds to set league leader AC Milan on the way to a 2-1 win at Sassuolo. … Lille did enough to stay on top of the French league after drawing 0-0 at home with defending champion Paris Saint-Germain.
●NB●: Forward Kyle Kuzma has agreed to a three-year, $40 million extension to remain with the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.