Wild game vs. Hurricanes postponed

The game scheduled for Tuesday between the Minnesota Wild and the Carolina Hurricanes has been postponed to a later date, due to the Hurricanes’ outbreak of COVID, resulting in several players and staff members hitting the NHL’s protocol list.

Carolina is the fourth team this season to have an increased spread of the virus through its locker room, enough to postpone upcoming games. Most recently, it was the Calgary Flames going through the same situation just this week, and previously, the Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks had their own issues.

The game was initially in question, with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis hitting the protocol list ahead of the matchup, forcing the Hurricanes to go with 11 forwards and 7 defensemen, but on Monday afternoon, four more players tested positive, providing not enough time or even cap room for the team to get replacements from the minors.

With the new variant spreading through the country, it feels like only a matter of time until some large decision — whether a complete league pause, increased vaccinations, or just more precautions — takes place. Teams are postponing games, but also players are getting added to the protocol list every single day in heaping piles as of late, so the status quo certainly is not working.

There is no official word of when the postponed game will take place.