The NHL announced on December 20 that the 2021 regular season was underway and would begin on January 13.
The 56-game concentric sprint schedule for the Stanley Cup playoffs was designed with the expectation that some games would have to be postponed due to the COVID-19 epidemic. According to Pierre LeBron of TSN: “The key word of this season is’ agile.” “An increase in cases in the United States and Canada was expected, unfortunately, to affect the Games.
As mentioned earlier, the key word of this season is ‘agile’. My guess is that positive tests are going to change many times throughout the season for multiple teams in all seasons. Get used to it. https://t.co/T3GklgInCk
– Pierre LeBron (@PierreVLeBrun) 8 January 2021
On 8 January, this expectation was met after the announcement of six Stars stars and two staff members tested positive for coronavirus. The team closed its training facility as a precaution, and because the news came six days before Dallas began the season, its first three matches were postponed.
Also on January 8, the Blue Jackets announced on the same day that they “excluded many players from team practice” that day “out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with the NHL COVID-19 protocol.” The team has not postponed any games yet.
As of 2 February, a total of 18 games have been postponed due to COVID-19 affecting at least one club.
NHL sports are affected by COVID-19
| Date of game PPD. | sport | Rescheduled date |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., 14 January | Stars in the panthers | Mon., 22 February |
| Fri., 15 January | Stars in the panthers | Mon., 3 May |
| Sun., 17 January | Stars on lightning | Tue., May 4 |
| Tue., 19 January | Stars on lightning | Mon., 10 May |
| Tue., 19 January | Storm On Predators * | Tue., 2 March |
| Thursday, January 21 | Panthers in Hurricanes | Wed., 17 February |
| Sat., 23 January | Panthers in Hurricanes | Sun., 7 March |
| Tue., 26 January | Lightning on the storm | Mon., 22 February |
| Thursday, January 28 | Blues in the Golden Knights | Mon, 22 March |
| Mon 1 Feb | Golden knights on shark | Sun., 13 February |
| Tue, 2 February | Devil in the penguin | Sun., 21 March |
| Tue, 2 February | Saber in islanders | Mon., 22 February |
| Wed., 3 February | Golden knights on shark | Thursday, February 25 |
| Thursday, 4 February | Devil in the penguin | Tue., April 20 |
| Thursday, 4 February | Saber in islanders | Thursday, March 4 |
| Thursday, 4 February | Avalanche wild | Wed., 24 February |
| Sat., 6 February | Rangers in devils | Thursday, March 4 |
| Sat., 6 February | Saber on | Sat., 2 March 27 |
| Sat., 6 February | Coyotes on the wild | Tue., 16 March |
| Sat., 6 February | Avalanche in blues | Wed., 14 April |
| Sun., 7 February | Avalanche in blues | Tue., April 20 |
| Sun., 7 February | Coyotes on the wild | Wed., 14 April |
| Mon., 8 February | Saber on | Tue., 13 April |
| Tue, 9 February | Sad on the wild | Mon., 12 April |
| Tue, 9 February | Capitals | Tue., 13 April |
| Tue, 9 February | Coyotes in avalanche | Wed., 31 March |
| Thursday, February 11 | Coyotes in avalanche | Mon., 12 April |
| Thursday, February 11 | Capitals on the saber | Mon., 15 March |
| Thursday, February 11 | Sad on the wild | Thursday, March 25 |
| Thursday, February 11 | On devils flyers | Sun., 25 April |
| Sat., February 13 | Capitals on the saber | Fri., 9 April |
| Sat., February 13 | Wild on kings | Fri., 23 April |
| Sat., February 13 | On devils flyers | Mon., 10 May |
| Sun., 14 February | Flyer in rangers | Thursday, April 22 |
| Mon 15 Feb | Devil in the Bruins | Sun., 7 March |
| Thursday, February 25 | Golden knights on shark | |
| Sat., 20 March | Bruce on saber | |
| Tue., 23 March | Islanders in bruins |
* Hurricanes on the Predators was the first game of the NHL that was postponed that day.
Due to the postponement of the Dallas games in January, the following games were also affected:
- The Panthers at Red Wings, originally scheduled for February 21, is now Sat., February 20.
- The Panthers stars, originally set for February 23, are now Mercury. 24 February.
- Saber on Penguin, originally scheduled for March 27, is now on March 26.
- The Bruins, originally set for April 11, are now Sat. 10 April
- The Sabers’ Penguins, originally scheduled for April 20, now Mon on April 19.
- The Panthers at Lightning, originally scheduled for May 4, is now Mars, March 16
Following Carolina’s postponement in January, the following games were also called off:
- Originally coming on February 16, the Blue Jackets are now Mon, February 15, in Hurricanes.
- Lightning at the Panthers, originally scheduled for February 16, is now mon. 15 February.
- The storm in Lightning, originally scheduled for February 22, is now Mercury, February 24
With the postponement of the three Golden Knights games, the following games were also replaced:
- Duck on Shark, originally scheduled for February, is now April 6
- The Golden Knights on the Duck, originally scheduled for February 26, are now, thankfully, April 23.
- The Blues on Shark, originally scheduled for February 26, is now March 8.
After the Avalanche and Wild closed for a week, the NHL adjusted the schedule and ran two games from March to February:
- The Coyotes originally blues on March 29, now Sat., on February 6.
- The Coyotes, originally in the blues for March 31, are now mon. 8 February.
On February 9, several teams were shut down, the NHL shifted another game and now the Blues and Coyotes would play seven straight games against each other.
- The blues of the coyotes originally set for April 15 are now thankfully, February 12
On 16 February, the NHL announced the transfer of 30 games on the 2021 schedule (29 date changes, one is a time change).
On February 23, the NHL announced a reshuffle or transfer at the start time for several games.
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