The Chicago Blackhawks will begin making up games postponed because of COVID-19 on Feb. 9, a road date with the Edmonton Oilers.
The 7 p.m. matchup at Rogers Place is one of six Hawks games that were shelved earlier this season — and is among seven date changes overall — as the NHL tried to contain the spread of coronavirus infections among players, coaches and staff.
Overall, the league set 98 new dates for games delayed by COVID-19 postponements and shifted 23 other games to accommodate those makeup dates.
For 95 of the games, schedule makers took advantage of a 21/2-week break (Feb. 7-22) that had been set aside for players’ participation in the Olympics — before the league and players union pulled out of the Beijing Games because of concerns about the pandemic and China’s lengthy quarantine restrictions.
Here are the rescheduled games (original date in parentheses):
Feb. 9: at Edmonton Oilers, 7 p.m. (Jan. 18)
Feb. 12: at St. Louis Blues, 7 p.m. (Jan. 30)
Feb. 14: at Winnipeg Jets, 8 p.m. (Dec. 29)
Feb. 17: vs. Columbus Blue Jackets, 7:30 p.m. (Dec. 28)
Feb. 18: vs. Dallas Stars, 7:30 p.m. (Dec. 23)
Feb. 20: vs. Florida Panthers, 2 p.m. (Dec. 21)
April 18: vs. Calgary Flames, 7 p.m. (Dec. 13)
The Blues game in St. Louis was one of the games the league shifted to make room for makeup dates. Keeping that date would’ve had the Hawks playing three games in four days, which no longer is necessary now that the Olympic break isn’t a factor.
