Canucks game vs Ottawa Senators postponed

Another Vancouver Canucks game has been postponed.

The game against the Ottawa Senators was supposed to happen on Saturday night but now it joins the long list of Canucks games postponed. It was first reported by Patrick Johnston of The Province and The Vancouver Sun.

A couple of hours later, the NHL announced the game, along with the Senators’ game against the Winnipeg Jets on January 15 were postponed due to capacity restrictions. The game was supposed to be played at 50% capacity. It seems the league wants to wait for capacity restrictions to be lifted so teams can gain revenue.

The Canucks put out a statement after the league’s announcement.

“The decision was made proactively following consultation between the NHL, the Vancouver Canucks and BC’s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry,” said the statement. “The game will be rescheduled for a date later in the season when such restrictions may be eased or lifted.”

“COVID-19 cases continue to increase at a rapid rate, and we all need to adjust and be flexible as the pandemic evolves,” said Michael Doyle, President, Canucks Sports & Entertainment, Business Operations in the statement. “We hoped to play tomorrow, but we are at an important point of the pandemic, and given the size of the event, everyone involved believe this is the right decision. We thank everyone for their patience and understanding.”

The Canucks last game was on New Year’s Day and that was a 5-2 win over the Seattle Kraken in Seattle. They last played at home on December 14 which was a 4-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

They were also supposed to practice at 8 Rinks in Burnaby on Friday but instead did team workouts at Rogers Arena.

“It sucks to be honest,” said Tanner Pearson on the game being postponed per Jeff Paterson of Rink Wide. “Practice all week to gear up for a game and then it gets postponed.”

“We’re not happy about it,” said Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau per Farhan Lalji of TSN. “It is what it is but we want to play. We’re going to have 9 games on the road in a row. We’ll just muddle through.”

The Canucks next game will be on Tuesday in Sunrise to take on the Florida Panthers. It is the first game of a five-game road trip. Several players are in COVID protocol including Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser.

The team plans to travel to Florida on Sunday.

That will be nine straight games on the road for the Canucks.