The Omicron variant has not been kind, and the NHL has been greatly affected by its spread. The league announced yesterday that two more games will be postponed due to attendance restrictions in Canada, and there are likely more coming as well.
A full tracker of all the postponed games in the NHL is below. Data is accurate to the end of January 9, 2021.
Postponed NHL games by team
A total of 98 games have been postponed so far this season.
The Ottawa Senators lead the league with 13 postponed games so far. The Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, and Edmonton Oilers are tied for a close second with 10 each.
All seven Canadian NHL teams are among the top eight teams in terms of total games postponed so far. The New York Islanders have the most postponements out of American teams with nine games.
The Senators and Flames lead with eight home games postponed. It’s a five-way tie between the Senators, Islanders, Maple Leafs, Avalanche, and Blue Jackets for the most away games postponed with all of these teams having five each.
The San Jose Sharks, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, and Tampa Bay Lightning have the fewest postponed games in the league with just three so far. The Lightning have the fewest homes game postponed with zero so far. The Rangers, Flyers, Sharks, and Vancouver Canucks have the fewest away games postponed with just one so far.
More postponements coming
There is a high likelihood we see more postponements in the next few weeks. Attendance restrictions haven’t changed in Canada and the Winnipeg Jets will not be playing games in Saskatchewan as was rumoured early last week.
Jamming all these postponed games into the last half of the season will be tricky, could result in fatigue and injuries, and be very difficult on teams.
The ideal outcome from a regular season standpoint is that the league can get through a full 82-game schedule. But if it gets to be too much, keeping an eye on each team’s point percentage may be crucial as the league may be forced to consider a revised playoff model—not too different from the 2019–20 season.
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