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Saturday night’s game between the Canadiens and Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre has been postponed.
Bruins were missing seven players who are on NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list when they lost 3-1 to New York Islanders Thursday night.
Saturday night’s game between the Canadiens and Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre has been postponed.
The NHL made the announcement Friday morning. A make-up date for the game has yet to be determined.
The Canadiens’ next game is scheduled for Monday in New York against the Islanders (7 p.m., SN, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
The Canadiens beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in a shootout Thursday night at the Bell Centre with no fans in the building. Less than two hours before puck drop, the Canadiens announced there would be no fans allowed following a request from public health officials that was received late in the afternoon due to the latest COVID-19 Omicron variant outbreak.
The provincial government announced earlier Thursday that Quebec recorded 2,736 new cases of COVID-19 — the highest one-day case count since Jan. 3. Five new deaths were also reported Thursday. On Friday, Quebec reported 3,768 new cases — the most since the start of the pandemic — along with seven more deaths. Since the start of the pandemic, Quebec has reported 478,246 cases and 11,634 deaths linked to COVID-19.
The Canadiens’ next home game isn’t until Jan. 4 against the Washington Capitals and the team has received assurances from the government that 50 per cent capacity will be allowed at the Bell Centre. The Toronto Maple Leafs will also be limited to 50 per cent capacity at Scotiabank Arena, complying with new restrictions issued Wednesday by the Ontario government.
The Bruins lost 3-1 to the Islanders Thursday night in New York without seven players in their lineup who have been placed on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list since Monday. That list for the Bruins includes star players Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
Oskar Steen was added to the Bruins list just 25 minutes before puck drop Thursday, joining Bergeron, Marchand, Craig Smith, Trent Frederic, Anton Blidh and Jeremy Swayman.
The Bruins were forced to play the game with only 11 forwards, one fewer than normal.
“Were we given the option to play? I don’t believe so,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said after the game. “Again, that’s a question for (general manager Don Sweeney). It was not discussed with me. I was assuming we’re playing all along, even with being down one guy. My guess is if there was a few more positives than that option probably would have been on the table but to my knowledge it wasn’t on the table. We were here to play.”
The Bruins’ outbreak came after they beat the Flames 4-2 last Saturday in Calgary. The Flames added a 19th player (Mikael Backlund) to the COVID-19 protocol list on Friday and after that the NHL announced Calgary’s games will be postponed through Dec. 23. The Flames have now confirmed 32 positive cases of COVID-19 since last Saturday, including coaches and support staff.
The NHL also announced Friday that the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche will have their games postponed through Dec. 26.
The Panthers were missing seven players who are on the protocol list when they lost 4-1 to the Los Angeles Kings Thursday night.
The Avalanche lost 5-2 to the Nashville Predators Thursday night after being given the option not to play. Colorado defenceman Cale Makar and goalie Darcy Kuemper entered the league’s COVID protocol just before puck drop, forcing the Avalanche to play two skaters short and with an emergency backup goalie behind Paval Francouz. The Avalanche have seven players and five members of the coaching staff in the protocol.
“I just went to our players and said, ‘Hey, what do you guys want to do?’” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said after the game. “Like I said, We’re here to play a game.’ They were shorthanded, we were shorthanded. We’re not using COVID as an excuse. We’re here to win a hockey game. We had plenty of capable bodies in the lineup.”
The Canadiens’ Brendan Gallagher and Sami Niku were placed in the protocol on Dec. 2, but were taken off this week. There are currently no Canadiens players on the list. Earlier this season, former Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin tested positive for COVID-19.
“For sure, today was a wake-up call with no fans in the stands,” the Canadiens’ Jonathan Drouin said after Thursday’s game in an empty Bell Centre. “We weren’t expecting that this year with the vaccines. We were told it wouldn’t happen, so to see that tonight, it’s tough to see. There was no ambience, no energy. But again, I think people’s health is more important than a hockey game.”
When asked if he would be comfortable playing against the Bruins Saturday, Drouin said: “That’s a tough question to answer, but I wouldn’t be that comfortable playing with guys who might have COVID or against a team that’s had seven cases. Tomorrow morning, there might be three more or two more, we don’t know. I don’t feel comfortable playing with that. It’s not what we were told this year with the vaccines and all that. For sure, things change in times like this, but it’s really not ideal.”
More than 140 NHL players have been on the COVID-19 protocol list this season.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Chiefs: Host the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
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AP NFL:
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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