Report: NHL postpones Sens games amid COVID outbreak

Ottawa Senators right wing Drake Batherson (19) celebrates after scoring a goal with right wing Logan Shaw (20) and Tyler Ennis (63). Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports

Report: NHL postpones next three Senators games amid COVID outbreak

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 11/15/21

The NHL is expected to postpone the Ottawa Senators' next three games as the team deals with a massive COVID-19 outbreak, multiple outlets reported on Monday.

The team was originally supposed to fly to New Jersey Monday to prepare for a Tuesday night game against the Devils.

The NHL will postpone games vs. New Jersey Tuesday along with Thursday vs. Nashville and Rangers here in Ottawa Saturday because of the COVID-19 outbreak with 10 players in protocol. The club has cancelled its flight to New Jersey. #Sens
— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) November 15, 2021

The Senators canceled practices last week as a precaution and have reportedly spread players out in the dressing room to keep contact to a minimum. Players are also being tested multiple times a day in conjunction with league safety protocols, which skaters say has become a distraction.

"Every day there's something unexpected," captain Brady Tkachuk said last week, via SportsNet. "So, of course, it kind of wears on you mentally."

Head coach D.J. Smith added, "Mentally, players don't know if they're in (the lineup) or not in — they're waiting on the test and it's a lot of distraction."

Ottawa isn't the first club to deal with a massive outbreak this season. The San Jose Sharks just came out of a six-game stretch in which seven players and head coach Bob Boughner were in the COVID-19 protocol.

The Sharks, however, played through the ordeal and recalled a long list of AHL players to fill out their depleted roster while assistant coach John MacLean filled in behind the bench.

The league has yet to make the postponement of the Senators' games official.

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