When the Winnipeg Jets took the ice for what turned out to be a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Blues Sunday afternoon, they had no idea they would be the last Canadian NHL team to play a game before the Christmas break.
But Jets centre Mark Scheifele said he wasn't surprised by the announcement.
"You never know right now," Scheifele said of the rapidly evolving COVID-19 landscape in the league. "You could see it coming kind of, we weren't really sure, so obviously we know now and waiting to see what all transpires. We'll keep rolling with the punches."
The NHL announced Sunday -- while the Jets and Blues were on the ice -- that it was postponing the 12 remaining games that required cross-border travel between Monday and the Christmas break. The announcement means, in part, that all seven Canadian teams will now have a full week off before hopefully resuming play in the final week of the month.
The Jets only had one game impacted by the announcement, Wednesday's contest in Dallas against the Stars. Tuesday's game in Nashville had already been postponed due to an outbreak within the Predators organization.
Interim head coach Dave Lowry said he was disappointed by the decision but added his team will use the time to reset in practice. Lowry assumed the head coaching role after Paul Maurice resigned on Friday and the Jets had been winless in three straight before the win over the Blues.
"I think the big thing is when you win a hockey game you want to play the next day," Lowry said. "This will take us out of it for a couple of days. But what it will allow us to do is get back and work on some details in our game that we hope to continue to improve on.''
The NHL has now postponed 40 games so far this season due to COVID-19 concerns. As the number of postponed games grows, the league and NHLPA are discussing whether players will be released to the Beijing Winter Olympic Games, which open in early February. In a statement Sunday, the NHL said a decision on that matter could come in a matter of days, but Scheifele -- a player who could represent Canada at the Games -- isn't very optimistic at this point.
"Obviously it's concerning," he said. "You don't really know what's going to happen. It's not in our hands anymore. You just have to trust in the plan and just keep doing what you do... and hope for the best."
