For the first time in 2021, the Boston Bruins schedule is being affected because of COVID-19.
Following a two-game series with the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday and Friday nights in Philly, the Black and Gold was scheduled to return home to face the Buffalo Sabres for two games beginning Saturday night.
Those games will not happen as the Sabres are going through COVID-19 protocols. Last weekend, the Sabres hosted the New Jersey Devils for two games on Saturday and Sunday. Tuesday, the Devils place 10 players on the COVID-19 Protocol list and increased their number to 14 total players on the currently on the list.
Our games against Buffalo that were scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 6 and Monday, Feb. 8 have been postponed. https://t.co/dyn7Pi2K9B
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 2, 2021
Buffalo forwards Taylor Hall and Rasmus Ristolainen were added to the COVID-19 Protocol list Tuesday. The Sabres are currently going through contract tracing after playing the Devils and their games have been postponed through Feb. 8.
More schedule changes ahead?
This may not be the only schedule change in the next couple of weeks for the Bruins. The Devils are scheduled to visit the TD Garden for two games on Feb. 15 and 18. Those games are still two weeks away, but it bears watching if New Jersey has to keep adding players to the COVID-19 Protocol list.
The #NJDevils now have 14 players on the NHL's COVID Protocol list: Jesper Bratt, Connor Carrick, Aaron Dell, Jack Hughes, Andreas Johnsson, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, Kyle Palmieri, Damon Severson, Ty Smith, Matt Tennyson, Sami Vatanen, Pavel Zacha and Travis Zajac.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 2, 2021
These games will be rescheduled by the NHL for a later date, but a mini-break in schedule might not be that worst thing for the Bruins. After Friday’s game in Philadelphia, the Bruins will be off until Feb. 10 when they travel to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers for the first time this season.
If David Pastrnak plays in both games against the Flyers, he would have played his first four games of the season in six days after returning from hip surgery. The break will also give more injured Bruins time to rest and possibly return to the lineup against the Rangers. Matt Grzelcyk, Jake DeBrusk and Jack Studnicka are not on the Bruins current four-game road trip after sustaining injuries in the season-opening homestand last week.