New York (AFP) - The NHL said Friday it would resume play in the wake of its holiday break on Tuesday at the earliest, rather than Monday, to allow the league to analyze Covid-19 test results and assess readiness to play.
The NHL and NHLPA agreed to begin their holiday break last Wednesday -- two days earlier than originally planned -- due to the number of players and teams impacted by coronavirus.
Now Monday's scheduled 14 matches have been pushed back, although the league said in a written statement that teams would return to practice on Sunday.
In a statement posted on Twitter, NHL said the league "had planned to resume its schedule on Monday, December 27, but in order to allow the League an adequate opportunity to analyze League-wide testing results and to assess Clubs' readiness to play, the target date for resumption of gameplay will be pushed back an additional day."
The league is expected to update its return-to-play plans on Sunday night.
In all, 64 NHL games have now been postponed this season.
After the NHL and NHL Players Association agreed this week not to allow players to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, the three weeks the league would have been in hiatus for the Games could be used to make up missed contests.
