Merry Christmas everyone! If you are celebrating today, here’s hoping your Christmas Day is going well and you are spending time with family, friends and loved ones.
Unfortunately, some sobering news about the world outside of us as Sam Kasan wrote on the Devils’ official blog – a post that appeared on the team’s app – that the NHL has postponed the Monday night game between the Devils and the hometown St. Louis Blues on December 27.
Kasan wrote that the NHL wants to “analyze League-wide results and to assess Clubs’ readiness to play” as he quoted from a “league release.”
The makeup date is to be determined, but the NHL now has the two-week former-Olympic break in February to work with as it was announced this past week that the NHL will not be participating in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China. The league will instead use that period to make up games that have been previously postponed due to COVID-19 precautions.
According to Kasan, NHL clubs “are permitted to return to practice on Dec. 26 and any further updates on the league’s return to play will be provided by “the end of day on Sunday.””
So far, the Devils game at the Buffalo Sabres on December 29 – their next scheduled game – is still on. That could, of course, change by Sunday evening.
The 2022 World Junior Championship, slated to begin on Sunday as well, will be proceeding as scheduled. Fan attendance at Rogers Place in Edmonton and WP Centrium in Red Deer will be at about 50-percent capacity, but things should be good to go for the time being.
Tomorrow will see plenty of action as Finland will face Germany and the Czechs will take on Canada in Group A in Edmonton while Russia and Sweden and the USA and Slovakia will faceoff with each other in Group B action in Red Deer.
We will have coverage here, although the post will go up late as the games are Alberta time and, thus will get done after midnight or so here on the East Coast.
Again, a merry Christmas to everyone!