NHL postpones Leafs, Senators games, brings back taxi squads

The latest sports news:

• NHL postpones Leafs, Senators games, brings back taxi squads
• Flames resume skating after extended COVID-19 pause
• OHL's Sarnia Sting games postponed
• More Premier League postponements
• College football bowl games called off

NHL postpones Leafs, Senators games, brings back taxi squads

The Toronto Maple Leafs matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators game with the Boston Bruins, both previously scheduled for Dec. 29, have been postponed for COVID-19-related reasons.

The NHL announced the changes on Sunday night, also postponing the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago game originally scheduled for Dec. 28.

The league also announced it will emerge from an extended holiday break with taxi squads and other roster revisions to guard against more disruptions to the season.

Each team will be allowed to have a taxi squad of up to six players and to make emergency recalls from the minors if COVID-19 absences would cause anyone to play without a full lineup. Taxi squads, which were used during the shortened 2021 season, are set to be in effect until at least the All-Star break in early February.

Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the new roster rules in an email to The Associated Press, and the NHL announced the changes Sunday night.

Players on the taxi squad will count as being in the minors for cap purposes. They can be there for a maximum of 20 days.

The goal of the changes is to keep the NHL season going after 67 games already have been postponed for coronavirus-related reasons. All 14 games initially scheduled for Monday previously were postponed to allow for analyzing of COVID-19 tests taken Sunday by players, coaches and staff upon returning to team facilities.

The return to team facilities also brought the predictable result of additions to the COVID-19 protocol list across the league.

More players, coach enter protocol

The defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning added goaltenders Andrei Vasilevskiy and Brian Elliott, defenceman Mikhail Sergachev, forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and assistant coach Rob Zettler to the list.

Dallas Stars defenceman Miro Heiskanen, forwards Jason Robertson, Joel Kiviranta, Radek Faksa and Michael Raffl, Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Ryan Ellis and Buffalo Sabres forwards Dylan Cozens and Mark Jankowski and coach Don Granato also entered protocol.

The Sabres said Cozens, Jankowski and Granato were asymptomatic. The team cancelled a scheduled practice, which was to be Buffalo's first since Dec. 18.

The NHL began its annual Christmas break a day earlier than anticipated last week amid a rapid increase of positive COVID-19 test results among players. At the time, more than a quarter of the league's 32 teams were shut down because of outbreaks.

WATCH | Projecting Canada's Olympic men's hockey roster minus NHLers:

Who will Hockey Canada send to the Beijing Olympics?

3 years ago

Duration 3:25

With the NHL confirming they will not participate in the 2022 Olympics, Rob Pizzo of CBC Sports looks at who Hockey Canada could send to represent Team Canada's Men's Hockey Team.

Flames resume skating after extended COVID-19 pause

The Calgary Flames returned to the ice Sunday for practice after an extended break because of COVID-19 protocols.

The Flames had seven games postponed because of a total of 20 players and 13 staff entered in COVID-19 protocol in December.

Goaltender Dan Vladar remained in protocol Sunday, but will able to join his teammates Monday, head coach Darryl Sutter said.

Calgary's last game was a 4-2 home loss to the Boston Bruins on Dec. 11.

The NHL started its holiday break early because of several teams with players and personnel in protocol, and won't resume before Tuesday.

So Calgary's home game against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday was also postponed.

OHL reschedules 3 Sarnia Sting games

The Sarnia Sting have had their next three games postponed by the Ontario Hockey League because of concerns over COVID-19.

Sarnia's games on Wednesday and Friday against the London Knights will be rescheduled, as well as a game against the Windsor Spitfires on Jan. 2. The OHL announced the postponements on Sunday.

The league and the Sting say they will not have any further comment on the club's COVID-19 outbreak at this time. All three games will be rescheduled at a later date.

The OHL will provide information on the new dates for the games when the details are confirmed.

Leeds, Wolverhampton secure postponements

Leeds and Wolverhampton have secured Premier League approval for further matches to be postponed due to coronavirus outbreaks in squads.

Leeds' home game against Aston Villa on Tuesday has been called off, having already had Sunday's match at Liverpool postponed.

The Premier League has now called off 15 matches because of coronavirus issues in 2 1/2 weeks, with players having to isolate after testing positive or if they are unvaccinated and a close contact of a COVID-19 case.

But Crystal Palace had its request rejected for Sunday's game at Tottenham to be postponed. The league will have considered that Palace had enough players to fulfil the fixture which the south London club lost 3-0.

Fenway Bowl, Military Bowl scrapped

The Fenway Bowl and Military Bowl were both cancelled due to the pandemic on Sunday as coronavirus outbreaks at Virginia and Boston College forced them to call off their postseason plans.

"This is not the way we wanted to see this season come to an end," Eagles coach Jeff Hafley said. "We just do not have enough players to safely play a game. My heart goes out to our seniors who will not have one final opportunity to wear a BC jersey and I can't thank them enough for all the contributions they made to our program."

The Fenway Bowl was supposed to bring a college football postseason game to the century-old home of the Boston Red Sox, but those plans have been stymied twice by the pandemic. It was to be the last game for Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall, who announced his resignation after the Cavaliers concluded a 6-6 regular season.