The NHL is extending the postponements for the Buffalo Sabers, Minnesota Wild and New Jersey Devils as those teams recover from COVID-19 outbreaks among players.
The league announced Monday that two additional Saber games (February 11 and February 13 against the capitals); three more Devils games (February 11 and February 13 vs. Flyers and Feb. 15 vs. Bruins) and two Wild games (Feb. 11 vs. Blues and Feb. 13 vs. Kings) were postponed because of the COVID-19 protocols.
The sabers were initially postponed until at least February 8, the savage at least Tuesday and the devils at least last Saturday. A decision to resume the practice and play of the three teams will be made by the medical groups in the NHL, NHLPA and teams in the coming days.
In the report on absences from the COVID-19 protocol in Sunday’s league, the Sabers had nine players listed, while the Devils had 16 players and the Wild had nine.
Avalanche, which had three players on the roster, has its games on hold until at least Thursday.
Wild general manager Bill Guerin said there was a plan to bring his team back on the ice, but that additional positive cases meant more time away from the rink.
“I think it would be better to take extra time and make sure our boys here are healthy. If we have to wait a few more days, we have to wait a few more days,” he said on Monday. “I don’t think this is something we want to cram a round pin into a square hole. Let’s wait and be patient and do the right thing and we’ll be fine in the end.”
The NHL has postponed 33 games since the season began on January 13th. There are 15 games that have not yet been rescheduled.