:no_upscale()/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/7G67PY3EMVBPVMFWXUWCKNZUX4.jpg "Stars-Predators postponed as NHL delays return to play by a day")
Those ready to watch their Dallas Stars after the holiday break will have to wait a little longer.
On Friday, the NHL delayed its return to play by a day to Tuesday, postponing all games that were scheduled for Monday, including the Stars’ home game against the Predators. The Stars said the game will be rescheduled for a later date to be determined.
In a written statement, the league said the purpose of the delay is to “allow the league an adequate opportunity to analye league-wide testing results and to assess clubs’ readiness to play.” Teams will return to practice on Sunday and it is expected the league will provide another update on its return to play plans that day.
The news came on the same day that the Stars placed defenseman Jani Hakanpää back into the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols.
Hakanpää remains the only Stars player to have been in the protocol all season. He entered the protocol the first time in October due to a false positive. Roope Hintz also had a false positive Nov. 18, but he was cleared with two negative tests.
The NHL began a leaguewide shutdown Wednesday amid a rise in positive COVID-19 test results among players. The league announced Monday it would open its annual holiday break two days earlier than scheduled and have it run through Saturday.
The Stars entered the break coming off two straight wins, which helped ease the sting of the five-game losing streak in the previous week. Dallas is in sixth place in the Central Division, and is four points back of Edmonton for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
The shutdown is the third this calendar year for the Stars, who were previously shut down in January due to a COVID-19 outbreak during preseason training camp and in February because of the winter storm in Dallas.