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Lightning, NHL cancel morning skate on Thursday

The NHL is expected to make an announcement regarding its schedule amidst the coronavirus pandemic
 
On Thursday, there were no pucks on the ice when the Lightning canceled morning skate. The NHL is expected to make an announcement regarding its scheduled games.
On Thursday, there were no pucks on the ice when the Lightning canceled morning skate. The NHL is expected to make an announcement regarding its scheduled games. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]
Published March 12, 2020|Updated March 12, 2020

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UPDATE 1:10 p.m. The Athletic’s Pierre Lebrun reported that Gary Bettman put out the idea of putting the season on hold to the Board of Governors with no objections.

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The Lightning canceled their morning skate in advance of Thursday’s scheduled game against the Flyers. The NHL issued an advisory that teams not hold morning skate, practice or team meetings on Thursday, “given the uncertainty regarding next steps regarding the coronavirus.”

Wednesday night, the league issued a statement that it was considering the options for the schedule and would announce an update on Thursday. The NHL is expected to hold a call with its board of governors at 1 p.m. Thursday.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that some NHL road teams are planning to go the airport and wait there on if they would be leaving. The Flyers have not yet removed their equipment from Amalie Arena.

That came after the NBA shut down its game play “until further notice” after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for COVID-19.

Related: NHL evaluating options after NBA suspends play

Two NHL teams, San Jose and Columbus, announced on Wednesday that they would play in empty arenas after the county of Santa Clara and the state of Ohio banned events with crowds larger than 1,000 people.

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