PAUSE: Avalanche games postponed through Christmas

I might as well just go straight into the release just given by the NHL, regarding the Avalanche (and other teams):

NEW YORK (Dec. 17, 2021) – The National Hockey League announced today that it has extended the period of game postponements for the Calgary Flames through their game previously scheduled for Dec. 23 against Seattle. Additionally, due to concern with the number of positive cases within the last two days as well concern for continued COVID spread in the coming days, the Colorado Avalanche’s and Florida Panthers’ games also will be postponed at least through the scheduled completion of the League’s Holiday Break in the schedule on Dec. 26. The decision was made by the NHL’s, the NHLPA’s and the Club medical groups.

A decision on when each team’s training facilities will re-open will be made by the League and the NHLPA in the coming days. The League is in the process of reviewing and revising all three teams’ regular-season schedules.

The Flames’ postponed games to date include: Dec. 13 @ Chicago; Dec. 14 @ Nashville; Dec. 16 vs. Toronto; Dec. 18 vs. Columbus; Dec. 21 vs. Anaheim; Dec. 23 vs. Seattle.

The Avalanche’s postponed games include: Dec. 18 vs. Tampa Bay; Dec. 20 @ Detroit; Dec. 22 @ Buffalo; Dec. 23 @ Boston.

The Panthers’ postponed games include: Dec. 18 @ Minnesota; Dec. 21 @ Chicago; Dec. 23 vs. Nashville.

The Flames, Avalanche and Panthers organizations have followed, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of their Players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, local, state/provincial and federal agencies.

Merry Christmas. Hey, listen, let’s try to take the positives out of this, Avs fan:

• The games will be made up. And, let’s hope anyway, a quarter of the team won’t be out because of Covid.
• Anybody who is dinged up (Landeskog, Byram, Murray) might be back after the pause, and therefore get the games played on their log instead of DNP.
• Landeskog will definitely be back after the break. Murray is skating again and Byram? Don’t know. But he’s in the gym working out, at least.
• The Avs don’t have to cram in three games in four days right before Christmas on the east coast, flying home the day before Christmas.
• I doubt the team will pay for it too bad with “rust” – though that might happen. Other teams are still playing – at least for now.

Can Avs players leave town during the pause, and treat this as a semi-vacation? That part I’m not sure of just yet, but enhanced Covid protocols are still in place, which means players are highly discouraged to congregate in crowds out in public, etc.

I know this: if they go to Canada, where many players are from, they risk getting caught behind the border on the way back. Canadian Covid policies are pretty darn strict.

Obviously, we’ll still have Avs content here during the pause. Translation: Don’t abandon us!