Monday night's game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Buffalo Sabres has been postponed due to COVID-19, as well as Thursday's game between the two teams at Nationwide Arena.
"Concern with the number of positive cases in the last several days" led to the decision made Monday. In a statement, the NHL/NHLPA said that a joint decision on when the Blue Jackets can resume team activities will be made in the coming days.
SCHEDULE UPDATE: @BlueJacketsNHL and @CanadiensMTL shut down through the holiday break. Details: https://t.co/gpeYOpswqr pic.twitter.com/UM1a7WovQi
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 20, 2021
The Blue Jackets returned more positive COVID test results in their latest round of testing, adding to Jack Roslovic, Boone Jenner and Gabriel Carlsson, who entered the COVID protocols on Sunday. The Jackets canceled their morning skate in Buffalo earlier Monday – as did the Sabres –as they await more COVID-19 testing results. As a result, the team was still reportedly in Columbus and had not yet boarded its flight to Buffalo.
The Blue Jackets were scheduled to host the same Sabres this Thursday, Dec. 23 at Nationwide Arena. It comes as no surprise that the NHL decided to shut down the Blue Jackets until after the holiday break.
The Blue Jackets' next game, as scheduled, is Tuesday, Dec. 27 in Toronto.
While some regular-season games will continue to be played, the NHL and the NHL Players Association have agreed to temporarily cease travel across the U.S.-Canadian border for games from Dec. 20 through the start of the league's holiday break on Dec. 23.
The league says the 12 affected games will be rescheduled.
This story will be updated.
