The Bruins reported to Brighton for a 10:30 a.m. practice Saturday, called it off because of an uptick in positive COVID-19 tests, and by 2 p.m. saw the NHL place the franchise’s playing schedule on pause through at least Dec. 26.
The pace of the action is picking up around the league’s 32 teams. But it’s the invisible hand of COVID-19, a virus that has claimed more than 800,000 lives in the United States and Canada, that is dictating the game’s every move — both on and off the ice.
By midafternoon, the Bruins announced two additions to their protracted COVID protocol list: forwards Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar. It brought to nine the number of Bruins to test positive or to be deemed in close contact with someone who tested positive.
The Bruins in their last two games (both losses) already were without star forwards Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, as well as No. 2 right winger Craig Smith. Their designation to the COVID list left the Bruins at an obvious, if not lopsided, competitive imbalance that led to losses to the Golden Knights and Islanders.
Speculation around the league increased during the day, partly in light of both the Bruins and Predators being added to the franchises placed on pause, that league bosses this weekend could opt similarly to shut down all franchises through at least the holiday break.
If so, it would be the second league-wide pause in 21 months. In March 2020, at the start of the pandemic here in North America, the NHL put all of its then-31 teams on pause after some 70 games each. Weeks later, the league canceled the remainder of its regular season, then staged a full Stanley Cup tournament in the cities of Toronto and Edmonton over the summer.
The current pause for the Bruins, which also placed a temporary hold on team-related activity at Warrior Ice Arena, added three games to the Bruins’ list of postponements that already included their visit Saturday night to Montreal.
The additional Bruins postponements were Sunday’s matinee in Ottawa and the next two games at TD Garden: Tuesday vs. Carolina and Thursday vs. Colorado. The league, now adding daily to the number of teams it places in COVID pause, has yet to announce makeup dates for any of the games.
The Bruins said late Saturday morning that general manager Don Sweeney would address the media later in the day. He had yet to comment by late afternoon.
None of the Bruins players or coaching staff stepped foot or skate on Warrior Ice Arena’s playing surface Saturday morning. The ice was prepped, glimmering like highly polished white marble. A couple of dozen pucks sat stacked up on atop the boards near where the Bruins normally file out from the dressing room.
As a club PR representative notified the three reporters in the press box around 11 a.m. that the workout was called off, a member of the equipment staff quietly removed the pucks. A few stragglers in the stands and a couple of videographers packed up and made their way out of the Guest. Street facility.
No telling when workouts will resume, but ideally, the Bruins would be back on the ice at least once prior to their next scheduled game, currently on the books for a Dec. 27 visit by the Penguins. The following two games would have the Bruins in Ottawa on Dec. 29 and then the Sabres visit here for a 1 p.m. matinee on New Year’s Day.
Late on Friday, the NHL and the NHLPA players’ union reinstated many of the stringent COVID protocols and practices that governed on- and off-ice behavior going back to summer 2020.
The revived do’s and don’ts again will have players submit to frequent COVID testing, wearing masks, maintaining social distancing, and, perhaps hardest of all, barely ever venturing out from team hotels on the road, be it to go to dinner or otherwise socialize.
In short, it amounts to a soft, albeit no doubt annoying, lockdown. Most young athletes revel in the road lifestyle, be it for the chance to bond with teammates or pursuing other socializing experiences. All those perks once again have been trimmed.
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeKPD.
