The NHL announced the Colorado Avalanche season is now on pause until after the Christmas break. The announcement comes with the postponement of four Avalanche games: vs. Tampa Bay, at Detroit, at Boston and at Buffalo.

Those games will have to be rescheduled to be made up at later dates.

Colorado’s pause comes just a day after the Avs played in Nashville with a severely compromised roster as four players found out on gameday that they had tested positive for COVID, with two of them finding out right before the game started.

Jack Johnson was held out of the first half of the first period while his test results were being processed, further adding to the gong show last night turned into.

Between the two teams, there were 12 players who did not participate due to COVID tests.

The league released the following statement today:

The National Hockey League announced today that it has extended the period of game postponements for the Calgary Flames through their game previously scheduled for Dec. 23 against Seattle. Additionally, due to concern with the number of positive cases within the last two days as well concern for continued COVID spread in the coming days, the Colorado Avalanche’s and Florida Panthers’ games also will be postponed at least through the scheduled completion of the League’s Holiday Break in the schedule on Dec. 26. The decision was made by the NHL’s, the NHLPA’s and the Club medical groups.

A decision on when each team’s training facilities will re-open will be made by the League and the NHLPA in the coming days. The League is in the process of reviewing and revising all three teams’ regular season schedules.

The Flames’ postponed games to date include: Dec. 13 @ Chicago; Dec. 14 @ Nashville; Dec. 16 vs. Toronto; Dec. 18 vs. Columbus; Dec. 21 vs. Anaheim; Dec. 23 vs. Seattle.

The Avalanche’s postponed games include: Dec. 18 vs. Tampa Bay; Dec. 20 @ Detroit; Dec. 22 @ Buffalo; Dec. 23 @ Boston.

The Panthers’ postponed games include: Dec. 18 @ Minnesota; Dec. 21 @ Chicago; Dec. 23 vs. Nashville.

The Flames, Avalanche and Panthers organizations have followed, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of their Players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, local, state/provincial and federal agencies.

Colorado’s next scheduled game at the moment is December 27 at Vegas.

The Avalanche sent Justin Barron and Mikhail Maltsev down to the Eagles, who are currently in California this weekend for a series against the Stockton Heat, after last night’s game.