The burgeoning Covid-19 pandemic has ensnared the Buffalo Sabres and they won't play any games until after Christmas because of the positive cases being endured by their upcoming opponents.
The Sabres games against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night in KeyBank Center and Thursday night in Nationwide Arena were postponed Monday by the NHL due to Covid protocol issues involving the Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens both were officially put on pause by the league Monday at noon, necessitating the postponements. The NHL said the Buffalo postponements were made "due to concern with the number of positive cases within the last several days as well as concern for continued Covid spread" within the Blue Jackets' organization.
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The Sabres' scheduled game here Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche was postponed on Friday after the Avs were put on pause through the NHL's holiday break. There have been no makeup dates announced for Buffalo's three postponements. The Sabres said information on ticketing for the postponed games will be communicated as soon as it is available.
So when it comes to the game schedule, the Sabres will resume with home games on Dec. 27 against the New York Islanders and Dec. 29 against New Jersey. Of course, there's no telling where the pandemic will be in another week and what the impacts will continue to be on the league.
Late Monday night, the NHL and NHLPA announced the season was being paused from Wednesday through Saturday, with teams returning on Sunday for travel and/or practice, one day earlier than scheduled, and games on Dec. 27. The Sabres are scheduled to practice Tuesday but that workout may now be in doubt after winger Vinnie Hinostroza was added to the Covid protocol list earlier Monday.
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The team canceled its morning skate Monday while awaiting the Columbus tests results and thus made no comments to the media. General Manager Kevyn Adams is expected to address reporters on Tuesday.
The addition of Columbus and Montreal to the pause list means nine clubs have been shut down by the league, as the Blue Jackets and Canadiens have joined Colorado, Edmonton, Florida, Nashville, Boston, Toronto and Detroit. The NHL allowed negative-testing players and staff to resume workouts in Calgary on Monday, although the Flames will have two more games postponed this week for a total of six games since their outbreak began Dec. 12.
The NHL announced Sunday that it was not putting the entire league on pause but would continue to try to play games on a case-by-case basis. But the league also announced that 12 games through Thursday that require cross-border travel were being postponed until later in the season.
According to Frank Seravalli, the president of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and president of content for DailyFaceoff.com, there was just over 16% of league rosters in active protocol, and the number of players hit 123 by Monday night. There were also five head coaches. Until the Hinostroza announcement, the Sabres were one of just nine teams without a player listed.
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This week's NHL schedule is a complete disaster, as the Sabres are one of 19 teams with no games from the period starting Monday and running through Thursday, the final day of the schedule before the break. Of the five scheduled games Monday, only Minnesota at Dallas was played. Eight of the 10 games on Tuesday's schedule are already off, as New Jersey at Pittsburgh and Arizona at Seattle were added to the postponed list Monday.
All four games for Wednesday are off, including the Sabres-Avalanche game. There were just five of the 15 games scheduled for Thursday still on, and they have now been postponed as part of the league-wide pause.
Monday's game was scheduled to mark the Sabres debut for Syracuse-area native Alex Tuch, the 25-year-old winger acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in the Jack Eichel trade last month. Tuch, who compiled 61 goals and 78 assists the last four years in Vegas, has not played a game this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in July. He grew up as a Sabres fan in Baldwinsville and attended games at then-HSBC Arena as a youngster.
After three Columbus players – captain Boone Jenner and fellow forward Jack Roslovic as well as defenseman Gabriel Carlsson – were entered into the NHL's Covid-19 protocol on Sunday, the Blue Jackets opted not to fly to Buffalo and instead hold their morning skate at home on Monday. The plan was then for them to fly here after that, arriving around 1 p.m. in a game day schedule NHL teams typically use during the preseason.
But the Jackets canceled the skate just as it was scheduled to start around 10 a.m. to complete their daily Covid testing. Later in the day, after the postponements were announced, it was revealed the Jackets had six players in protocols with the addition of forward Eric Robinson, defenseman Andrew Peeke and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.
Fitzgerald back to Amerks
With no games until at least next week, the Sabres loaned defenseman Casey Fitzgerald back to Rochester early Monday night. The Amerks host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday night in Blue Cross Arena in their final pre-Christmas game.
