The Buffalo Sabres’ home game scheduled for Monday against the New York Islanders has been postponed as the NHL has decided to delay its return-to-play plan following the holiday break by at least one day in response to COVID-19 outbreaks.
No games will be played before at least Tuesday, the league said in statement.
“In order to allow the league an adequate opportunity to analyze league-wide testing results and to assess clubs’ readiness to play, the target date for resumption of game play will be pushed back an additional day,” the statement said.
The league said teams can return to practice Sunday, as planned, and that it will provide additional details by the end of the day Sunday. Daily testing also will resume Sunday.
The Sabres had three games scheduled for this week postponed, two against Columbus and one against Colorado. The NHL shut down for the holiday break Wednesday, a day earlier than planned, to assess its response to rising COVID numbers. The NHL has already postponed 50 games and more than 15% of the league’s players were in COVID protocols as of Monday.
As currently scheduled, the Sabres’ next game would be Wednesday at KeyBank Center against the New Jersey Devils.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].