Ducks, Kings, NHL breaking early for holidays due to COVID-19

The NHL’s determination connected Monday to statesman an extended Christmas interruption aft Tuesday’s games means the Kings’ Thursday crippled against the Golden Knights successful Las Vegas has been postponed due to the fact that of COVID-19. The Kings’ location crippled Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers was postponed connected Sunday.

The league and the players’ relation announced the latest circular of postponements jointly, bringing the full fig of games postponed to 49 due to the fact that of a melodramatic spike successful players being placed successful the league’s COVID-19 protocols, with 44 postponements made wrong the past 2 weeks.

The Ducks already had 3 games postponed this week: Monday against the Oilers successful Edmonton, Tuesday against the Flames successful Calgary and Thursday against the Canucks successful Vancouver. The Ducks were scheduled to signifier Tuesday and Wednesday astatine Great Park Ice successful Irvine, but they person called disconnected some sessions.

Teams primitively were to statesman the vacation interruption aft Thursday’s games, returning to signifier oregon play games Monday. The league and the national said successful a associated announcement that the interruption would present statesman aft Tuesday’s games and teams would beryllium unopen down until 2 p.m. section clip connected Sunday.

The Kings’ adjacent scheduled crippled is Monday against the Coyotes successful Glendale, Arizona. The Ducks’ adjacent crippled is Monday against the San Jose Sharks astatine Honda Center. Makeup dates for the postponed games were not announced, but it’s believed immoderate games volition beryllium slotted into the Olympic interruption successful February.

The availability of immoderate arenas could beryllium problematic, however.

It’s anticipated that the league and the national volition denote aboriginal this week that its players volition not enactment successful the Winter Olympics successful Beijing due to the fact that of scheduling conflicts. More than 15 percent of the league’s 700-plus players are presently successful the protocols and 10 teams were already unopen down due to the fact that of outbreaks.

As of Monday, the Kings had 3 players successful the NHL’s protocols: Center Phillip Danault, defenseman Drew Doughty and goaltender Cal Petersen. The Ducks did not person anyone successful the protocols, though close helping Jakob Silfverberg was sidelined for six games past period aft a affirmative test.

According to the league’s announcement Monday to suspend each activities aft Tuesday’s two-game slate, nary games oregon practices volition beryllium held betwixt Wednesday and Saturday, and nary subordinate shall participate the grooming facilities without a antagonistic trial upon returning Sunday aft 2 p.m. section time.

The latest determination by the league and the national is geared toward halting the dispersed of the omicron variant, which has rapidly go the apical coronavirus variant successful the United States, with much than 70 percent of each caller cases. Much astir the omicron variant remains unknown, including whether it causes much oregon little terrible illness. Scientists accidental omicron spreads adjacent easier than different variants.

The league postponed 12 games connected Sunday involving cross-border travel, citing “the fluid quality of national question restrictions.” Any player, manager oregon different subordinate of a team’s traveling enactment would person to quarantine successful a edifice for 10 days, per existent American and Canadian mandates.

The NHL reintroduced stricter protocols this week for players, including regular investigating (instead of erstwhile each 3 days), societal distancing measures and restrictions connected wherever players tin spell erstwhile they are not astatine home, the edifice oregon the rink.

There is lone 1 NHL subordinate who is not vaccinated: Detroit Red Wings guardant Tyler Bertuzzi. The NHL and NHLPA person recommended the vaccine booster to players but bash not person plans to mandate it this season.