The Bruins have six players in NHL COVID-19 protocol. Goalie Jeremy Swayman and forwards Anton Blidh and Trent Frederic were placed into protocol Thursday. Forward Patrice Bergeron entered Wednesday, and forwards Brad Marchand and Craig Smith entered Tuesday.
The game has not yet been rescheduled.
The Canadiens defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in a shootout at Montreal on Thursday. The game was played without fans in Bell Centre at the request of Quebec public health officials because of rising COVID-19 cases in the region.
"Today was a bit of a wake-up call," Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin said Thursday. "We weren't expecting that there wouldn't be fans in the stands this year with the vaccines. We were told the opposite, but it's tough to see that again without the fans' energy. After that, health and safety is more important than going to watch a hockey game."
The Canadiens are scheduled to play their next six games on the road, with their next home game against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 4. The Bruins, who lost 3-1 to the New York Islanders on Thursday, are scheduled to next play at the Ottawa Senators on Sunday.
The Bruins game at the Canadiens is one of 20 games the NHL has postponed this season. The NHL announced Friday that the Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers would have their games postponed through the NHL holiday break because of COVID-19 concerns. The Flames have had six games postponed, the Avalanche four, and the Panthers three. The Carolina Hurricanes had their road game on Dec 14 at the Minnesota Wild postponed.
The Islanders had games postponed for Nov. 28 (New York Rangers, rescheduled for March 17) and Nov. 30 (Flyers, not yet rescheduled). The Senators had games postponed for Nov. 16 (New Jersey Devils), Nov. 18 (Predators), and Nov. 20 (Rangers). The game against New Jersey was played Dec. 6; Ottawa won 3-2. The other two games have yet to be rescheduled.
A decision on when each of the training facilities for the Flames, Panthers and Avalanche will reopen will be made by the NHL and the NHL Players' Association in the coming days. The NHL is in the process of reviewing and revising the teams' regular-season schedules.
The NHL had 55 games postponed last season; all were made up as part of a 56-game schedule.
