Officials made a late decision to cancel Monday’s Canadiens - Oilers game due to COVID protocol. This call came after Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia entered COVID protocol. The AP’s Stephen Whyno notes that Oilers - Canadiens is the first North Division (aka the all-Canadian NHL division) game to get canceled due to COVID protocol.
The NHL notes that a makeup date hasn’t been announced for Monday’s planned Canadiens - Oilers game.
Since the 2020-21 NHL season began on Jan. 13, 43 games have been canceled. While five of those games were canceled for weather-related reasons, the other 38 were postponed due to COVID protocol.
Sportsnet points out that both Kotkaniemi and Armia participated in Monday’s morning skate, and also played in Saturday’s game. To put things mildly, the Canadiens - Oilers game was canceled quite late.
Me arriving a bit on the late side to the Bell Centre this evening. pic.twitter.com/J8SGzPPnMS
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) March 22, 2021
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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.