The NHL rescheduled a game between the Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets for April 5th. The game was originally scheduled to take place on May 7th, but recent postponements between the Jets and Vancouver Canucks created this opportunity. NHL PR announced the schedule adjustment Friday.
The @NHL today announced that the game between the @Senators and @NHLJets originally scheduled for May 7 is now scheduled to take place on Monday, April 5 at 7 p.m. ET. https://t.co/dRzDk2AzlT pic.twitter.com/BL6ZfTX4Gd
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 2, 2021
NHL Reschedules Game
This is certainly not the first reschedule of the 2020-21 NHL season. Several contests have been moved over the previous months, but most of them have affected teams in the United States. This is the first reschedule in several weeks and the first involving teams from Canada.
This also may not be the last rescheduling effort, but it could happen less frequently as players are vaccinated. Fewer potential instances for COVID to affect contests will mean fewer gaps to fill or create in the remaining weeks for the regular season. However, the teams and league will still need to remain vigilant. There are significant differences between the United States and Canada in terms of vaccination rates, so the whole of North American hockey is by no means out of the risky zone for positive tests.
What This Means For The Schedule
This game shouldn’t affect the two principal teams in any significant way. Yes, it moves a game up in the schedule, but it doesn’t force either team into a back-to-back scenario or anything strenuous. This is a fairly low-effort shift involving just two teams. It is far less disruptive than earlier moves that affected a half-dozen or so teams at one point.
The league will still have to resolve the Jets-Canucks games, but one could now be rescheduled to the original date for Winnipeg-Ottawa. Nobody likes to see games moved around. It is merely the best way to ensure equal numbers of games for teams.
Main Photo:
MONTREAL, QC – MARCH 02: Head coach D. J. Smith of the Ottawa Senators yells out instruction from the bench against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at the Bell Centre on March 2, 2021 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
