New Jersey Devils right wing Marian Studenic (67) chases the puck in front of Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Danton Heinen (43) during the second period at Prudential Center. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Penguins-Devils postponed due to COVID-19 issues impacting New Jersey

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 12/20/21

The NHL allowing Sunday's game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils to take place may prove to be an unwise decision.

Those two clubs were set to meet Tuesday night in Pittsburgh coming off the Penguins' 3-2 victory on Sunday, but the Devils confirmed they're dealing with COVID-19 issues that caused the postponement of Tuesday's matchup.

New Jersey fell to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, one day before the Red Wings were temporarily shut down.

SCHEDULE UPDATE: The @DetroitRedWings have been shut down at least through the scheduled completion of the @NHL’s Holiday Break in the schedule on Dec. 26. https://t.co/E57I3F2Hom pic.twitter.com/2CUmMc8oBQ
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 19, 2021

New Jersey's game against the Montreal Canadiens originally scheduled for Thursday was already scrapped because of an NHL decision to temporarily postpone cross-border contests. Thus, the Devils essentially became the 10th team on pause ahead of Christmas.

Earlier on Monday, the Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets joined the Red Wings, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins among NHL clubs currently inactive. The league nevertheless isn't yet pausing the entire season, but such a call may soon be inevitable considering there are now multiple examples of opposing players seemingly spreading the coronavirus among each other during games.

For now, the Penguins remain scheduled to face the rival Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.

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