Just moments after the Flyers finished their morning skate on Tuesday ahead of an anticipated matchup against the Washington Capitals, word came down from the NHL postponing the Metropolitan Division matchup.
While the league did not go into specifics, the postponement stems from “COVID-related issues” impacting the Capitals.
It was the Flyers’ final scheduled game before the NHL’s holiday break, which is beginning earlier than expected on Wednesday as the league continues to try and deal with its largest COVID-19 surge yet this season.
Over the last week, 50 games have been postponed while over 110 players have tested positive for the virus. That included the temporary shutdown of 10 of the NHL’s 32 teams.
Philadelphia’s originally-scheduled final game before the Christmas break, which was supposed to be on Thursday in Pittsburgh against the Penguins, was called off on Monday when the NHL and the players’ association decided to push the break up.
The Flyers are dealing with some COVID issues as well. They placed Kevin Hayes in league protocols on Monday, making him the third player and fifth overall member of the organization to test positive for the virus.
Players will report back to their teams on Dec. 26, which will be a day of COVID testing, practice, and/or travel only. They will not be permitted inside team facilities until they produce a negative COVID test — which is why practices must start after 2 p.m. local time, only.
It gives the teams and players one day to prepare before the regular-season schedule resumes on Dec. 27.
The Flyers are not scheduled to return to action until Dec. 29, when they have a back-to-back game West Coast trip against the Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET) and San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m.).
