The Columbus Blue Jackets were set to host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night, but that game was postponed because the Sabres can’t travel to Columbus, Ohio, due to the impact of a winter storm. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 27 (UPI) — Tuesday’s scheduled meeting between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Buffalo Sabres became the latest NHL game to be suspended as a result of a vicious winter storm in western New York and Canada, the league announced. The NHL said Monday night that the Sabres-Blue Jackets game will not be played Tuesday at Nationwide Arena, due to “severe winter weather in Buffalo that has closed the airport and will prevent the Sabres from traveling to Columbus, Ohio in time for the game.” Advertisement
No makeup date was announced.
The Sabres had two games rescheduled last week due to the snowstorm. A Dec. 23 game against the Tampa Bay Lightning was moved to March 4. The Sabres moved a March 4 meeting against the Philadelphia Flyers to Jan. 9 as a result of that schedule change.
The winter storm, which continues to ravage much of the United States, claimed 57 lives, including more than two dozen in western New York, over the Christmas holidays, officials estimate. Many of those deaths occurred in Buffalo, which received more than 4 feet of snow over the weekend.
The National Weather Service expects another 3 to 5 inches of snow before Tuesday afternoon in the Buffalo area. A driving ban and airport closures remain in place in Buffalo.
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The Sabres are scheduled to host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday at KeyBank Center. They are set to battle the Boston Bruins on Dec. 31 in Boston.
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The NHL announced last week that a game between the Red Wings and Ottawa Senators — scheduled for last Friday in Ottawa — also was moved to Feb. 27 due to the impact of the winter storm in Canada.
Eleven NHL games remain on schedule for Tuesday night.