Tuesday’s Flyers-Capitals game postponed due to COVID-19-related issues impacting Washington

The Capitals had two players absent from their morning skate after testing. The game was to be one of just two remaining before the leaguewide pause begins Wednesday.

With the Flyers' game against the Capitals on Tuesday, the team is now not scheduled to play until Dec. 29 in Seattle.Read morePatrick Semansky / AP

by Olivia Reiner

Published Dec. 21, 2021, 12:56 p.m. ET

Due to COVID-19-related issues affecting the Washington Capitals, the Flyers’ game vs. the Caps on Tuesday at 7 p.m. is postponed, the NHL announced.

In the moments leading up to the start of the Capitals’ morning skate Tuesday, winger Daniel Sprong was pulled off the ice, according to the Washington Post. Defenseman Justin Schultz never made it out to the ice.

The Capitals said that Sprong and Schultz were pulled because of COVID-19 test results and needed to undergo additional testing. At the conclusion of the morning skate, the Capitals canceled their post-practice media availability. Less than an hour after the start of their skate, the league announced that the game is postponed and will be rescheduled.

All tickets for Tuesday night’s postponed game will be valid for the to-be-determined rescheduled date. If those ticket holders aren’t able to attend the makeup game, they will be able to exchange them for tickets to another game. Ticket holders will be contacted with more information.

The Capitals had four players already in COVID-19 protocols: Nicklas Bäckström, Garnet Hathaway, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and T.J. Oshie. The Flyers currently have three players in COVID-19 protocols: Kevin Hayes (entered on Dec. 20), Max Willman (Dec. 18), and Morgan Frost (Dec. 14).

Before the Capitals’ morning skate, the Flyers hit the ice for an optional practice at 10:30 a.m. Only five available players did not attend ― Sean Couturier, James van Riemsdyk, Cam Atkinson, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Justin Braun ― and interim head coach Mike Yeo said that there were no new player additions to COVID-19 protocols.

The Flyers had called up forward Gerry Mayhew from the Phantoms to replace Hayes, marking their second COVID-related call-up within a week after forward Jackson Cates was brought up to fill Frost’s spot in the lineup on Dec. 15.

On Monday, the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association announced that they are instituting a leaguewide pause starting Wednesday and running through Dec. 25. Now, with Flyers-Capitals postponed, the last remaining Tuesday game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Vegas Golden Knights may be in jeopardy due to positive COVID-19 tests, according to the Daily Faceoff.

The NHL is scheduled to resume games following the holiday break on Dec. 27. However, the Flyers are not set to play again until Dec. 29 on the road against the Seattle Kraken. They will have three days between the conclusion of the holiday break and their first game back to test, practice, and travel to the West Coast for a four-game road trip.