Canadiens hosting Flyers without fans due to COVID-19 spikes

It was learned Wednesday that the Ontario government reduced arena capacities for Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, and Toronto Raptors home games due to rising COVID-19 cases linked with the Omicron variant. 

The Montreal Canadiens were even less fortunate ahead of the weekend. 

"Faced with the spiraling rise of COVID-19 cases in the region, late this afternoon the Montreal Canadiens organization received a request from Quebec public health officials to host tonight's game against the Philadelphia Flyers in a closed setting with no fans in attendance at the Bell Centre," the Canadiens explained in an official statement. "We have accepted this request in order to help ensure the safety and security of our fans and fellow citizens throughout our community. An update on the status of Saturday's scheduled game against the Boston Bruins will be provided tomorrow.

"We have obtained assurances that beginning with our games in January, we will return to a partial capacity scenario and be able to host fans once more. More details will follow in the days to come and as the portrait of this ever-evolving pandemic becomes clearer. 

"In the interim, we would continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated, get their booster shots when possible, and be responsible with their social and family gatherings throughout the holidays. We hope that with rigor and a collective effort from all of us, we will be able to come together in a near future in 2022."

It was reported Wednesday the NHL was reverting to health and safety protocols similar to those used last season to combat worsening COVID-19 outbreaks, and the NFL took similar steps on Thursday. Thus far, the NHL isn't planning on pausing the season, but it feels as if that could change at any point before Christmas. 

The Calgary Flames have had four games postponed amid an outbreak that's involved almost their entire team, including head coach Darryl Sutter and assistants Ryan Huska and Kirk Muller, entering the NHL's COVID-19 protocol.