After seeing Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Blues postponed, Vegas Golden Knights next two games (Feb. 1 and 3) against the San Jose Sharks have also been postponed. In each case, the Golden Knights’ games were postponed due to COVID protocols.
The NHL announced that four Golden Knights have been isolating according to COVID protocols, including three members of the coaching staff. (Alex Pietrangelo was recently listed on the NHL’s COVID absences list.)
As far as when the Feb. 1 and 3 games will be played, the league merely stated that they’ll take place “later in the season in San Jose.”
COVID disrupts Golden Knights’ week, eventually leading to postponed games
During Tuesday’s loss to the Blues, the entire Golden Knights coaching staff were self-quarantining and not on the bench. That turned out to be just part of the COVID-related disruptions for this team.
As of this writing, the Golden Knights’ next scheduled games are two contests against the Kings in Los Angeles on Feb. 5 and 7. Naturally, that can change, whether that entails more games being postponed, or other arrangements.
Through the first couple weeks of the 2020-21 NHL season, we’ve seen other COVID-related delays and postponed games.
On Monday, the league announced changes to seven games, six of which involved the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes just resumed their schedule on Thursday (Jan. 28), their first game since Jan. 18. After an outbreak affected 17 members of the Stars just before the season began, Dallas did not begin their season until last Friday (Jan. 22).
So far, the Golden Knights are 5-1-1 this season.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.