(Reuters) – The National Hockey League’s (NHL) regular-season schedule took another hit as two games scheduled to be played on Monday were postponed due to COVID-19 issues affecting both the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers.
Edmonton have placed five players and six members of their support staff in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol while New Jersey had four players enter the protocol this weekend.
The NHL said in a news release on Sunday that Edmonton’s home game against the Ottawa Senators will now be held on Jan. 15 while a date for New Jersey’s home game against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning has yet to be determined.
There have now been 103 games postponed this season because of issues related to COVID-19.
The disruption to the NHL’s schedule convinced the league to announce three weeks ago its decision not to participate in next month’s Beijing Olympics so it can use that time to reschedule some of the postponed games.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)
