Assuming the Winter Classic is still played as scheduled on New Year's Day, it will be the first game for the Wild in nearly two weeks.
Wild won't play until Winter Classic after NHL postpones Monday's games
The Wild was scheduled to play at Winnipeg in the teams' return from an extended Christmas break.
By Staff and wire reports
December 25, 2021 at 12:05AM
![Minnesota Wild left wing Marcus Foligno (17) fights Winnipeg Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon (5) in the first period of their game Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. The two teams had players getting into small scraps throughout the period before this fight. ]](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/KGPOZUD2VYPZ7K53D4JGEPW63Y.jpg?&w=712)
The NHL announced Friday that all 14 games scheduled for Monday have been postponed, extending the league's Christmas break by one more day, so as to give the league more time to analyze NHL-wide testing results for COVID-19 and to assess its teams' readiness to play. Teams are still scheduled to resume practicing Sunday, but they won't be allowed to take the ice until players, coaches and traveling officials are cleared in testing.
The Wild won't play Monday night at Winnipeg as scheduled. It's the fourth postponement for the Wild over a six-game span since Dec. 14; home games against Carolina, Florida and Detroit were all postponed because of COVID outbreaks on the opposing teams.
That currently leaves the Wild with an 11-day gap between games. The Wild isn't scheduled to play again until St. Louis arrives at Target Field for the Winter Classic — a game that itself was postponed from a year ago because of the ongoing pandemic. The Wild is participating in the NHL's annual Jan. 1 showcase outdoor event for the first time.
The NHL had already extended its annual Christmas break by two days, postponing all remaining games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday because of an increase of positive COVID-19 tests across the league. And of the 15 games originally scheduled for this past Monday and Tuesday, only two were played: the Wild at Dallas on Monday and Tampa Bay at Vegas on Tuesday.
Monday's postponements bring the total number of NHL games postponed to 64. On Wednesday, the league announced it is pulling out of the Beijing Olympics, saying it will use the originally scheduled Feb. 6-22 break to make up games as needed.
Before the holiday break arrived, 10 teams were already on pause for COVID, and the league postponed games involving cross-border travel as well. On Friday, Toronto forward William Nylander entered the league's COVID-19 protocols, the 13th Maple Leafs player on the list to go along with three coaches and four support staff.
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For the Wild, four points behind the league-leading Jets, this will be their most anticipated matchup against a division rival since they lost 2-1 to the Stars on Nov. 16.
