NHL postpones three more games

The NHL announced three more postponements, including two that involve the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. The following games will have to be rescheduled later in the season:

• Chicago Blackhawks @ Winnipeg Jets, December 29
• Dallas Stars @ Colorado Avalanche, December 29
• Colorado Avalanche @ Dallas Stars, December 31

There have now been 70 games postponed this season, most of them coming since Dec. 13. As of now, the three other games scheduled for Tuesday are still on, though the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning both had players enter the COVID protocol earlier Monday.

For the Avalanche, Blackhawks and Stars, this means they will not play again until the new year. Winnipeg still has a game scheduled on Dec. 31 against the Calgary Flames. Not only did Chicago see Marc-Andre Fleury enter the protocol Monday, but also several members of the Rockford IceHogs, including part of the coaching staff. The rampant spread of positive cases in the AHL is having a huge effect on NHL affiliates, which haven’t been able to recall enough healthy bodies at times this season.