MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens have decided to cancel the team's practice session scheduled for Saturday morning at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard as a precautionary measure.
The team announced its decision via its Twitter account, without adding further details.
Dominique Ducharme's team had kept this practice session on the schedule even though the game scheduled for Saturday night against the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre had been postponed.
The Bruins were last reported to be dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19 affecting seven players and one team staff member.
Midway through the day on Saturday, the NHL announced that the Bruins' Sunday game in Ottawa, Tuesday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes and Thursday's game against the Colorado Avalanche had also been postponed.
The Habs added its first player into the NHL's COVID-19 protocol since Dec. 2 when the team added Artturi Lehkonen to the list. ,Brendan Gallagher and Sami Niku were placed in isolation at the beginning of December. Gallagher and Niku returned to practice this week and Ducharme said it was possible they could return to action on Monday.
The Habs are set to return to action on Monday when they visit the New York Islanders. They will then face the New York Rangers on Dec. 22 and the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 23.
Thursday's game between the Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers at the Bell Centre was played behind closed doors following a request from Quebec Public Health due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in the Montreal area.
It was the first time since May 25 that the Habs played in an empty Bell Centre.
The maximum capacity of the Bell Centre was increased from 2,500 for the sixth game of the first-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 29 to 3,500 starting with the Stanley Cup semi-final against the Vegas Golden Knights on June 18. It was 7,500 during the fall pre-season schedule, then the restrictions were lifted in time for the home opener on Oct. 16.
CH Group president of sports and entertainment France Margaret Belanger said in a statement released Thursday night that the Canadiens have "been assured that we will be able to accommodate our fans again at 50 per cent of the arena's capacity for our January games."
LAVAL ROCKET GAME IN SYRACUSE POSTPONED
The American Hockey League has announced that the game between the Laval Rocket and the Syracuse Crunch that was scheduled for tonight in Syracuse will be postponed due to the COVID-19 protocol affecting the Crunch.
Rocket management confirmed the league's decision via its Twitter account on Saturday morning. No rescheduled date has been announced.
The game was supposed to be the last one for the Rocket before the Christmas break. The Laval team is scheduled to play its next game on Dec. 29 at Place Bell against the Crunch.
This is the second game in as many nights that the Crunch, the Tampa Bay Lightning's feeder club, has had to postpone due to the COVID-19. Last night, head coach Benoit Groulx's team was scheduled to host the Belleville Senators.
Meanwhile, the Rocket (12-10-2) moved into a tie for second place in the Northern Section with the Rochester Americans with their second straight win, 6-3 over the Providence Bruins at Bell Place.
The Rocket scored four unanswered goals in the second period, including three on the power play.
The game was played behind closed doors due to the Quebec government's recent demands regarding the COVID-19.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 18, 2021.
