The Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs lined up together prior to the national anthems at their tuneup game Tuesday.
Players alternated from one team to another on both blue lines as Maple Leafs icon Eddie Shack, who died last week at the age of 83, was honoured.
Earlier Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers did the same before the first exhibition game on the NHL’s return-to-play schedule.
“The Penguins and Flyers, two of the fiercest rivals in sports, united in solidarity this afternoon, to stand up against social injustice, racism and hate,” the teams said in a joint statement.
Supporting social justice initiatives and condemning racism and hate will be front and centre during the NHL’s return. In a media availability last week, the NHL announced the #WeSkateFor initiative that will honour both first responders during the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and other social justice causes.
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