Two More Teams Shut Down Until After Holiday Break

The NHL has shut down the Columbus Blue Jackets and Montreal Canadiens until after the holiday break due to their rise of COVID-19 cases.

SCHEDULE UPDATE: @BlueJacketsNHL and @CanadiensMTL shut down through the holiday break. Details: https://t.co/gpeYOpswqr pic.twitter.com/UM1a7WovQi
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 20, 2021

Due to this development, the Blue Jackets will now have two of their upcoming games rescheduled. They were set to play the Buffalo Sabres in back-to-back contests - first on Monday night and then on Thursday. Now, these two franchises will have to play one another on different dates.

The Canadiens already had their three remaining games before Christmas postponed when the NHL suspended cross-border travel on Sunday. They were expected to play the New York Islanders on Monday, New York Rangers on December 22nd and New Jersey Devils on December 23rd.

Given the fact that both of these teams are being hit hard by the virus right now, this isn't shocking in the slightest. On Monday alone, Columbus added Joonas Korpisalo, Andrew Peeke and Eric Robinson to COVID-19 protocol.

Here's to hoping every who is out from the virus will feel well enough to enjoy the holiday once it's here.