Wild's game vs. Detroit on Thursday postponed because of Red Wings' COVID-19 cases

The Wild's game against Detroit on Thursday was postponed Sunday because of a concern with the number of positive COVID-19 cases on the Red Wings.

Detroit played at home Saturday, beating New Jersey 5-2. The team has been put on hold through Dec. 26, but the Wild game is the only one affected by the move. The Red Wings' game against Colorado on Monday had already been postponed because of COVID cases on the Avalanche.

It's the third game in a span of 10 days that the Wild has had postponed because of COVID concerns on the opposing team, all home games. Last week, the Wild didn't play scheduled games against Carolina on Tuesday or Florida on Saturday at Xcel Energy Center.

Sunday, the Red Wings placed forwards Sam Gagner, Pius Suter and Joe Veleno and assistant video coach Jeff Weintraub into protocol.

They join coach Jeff Blashill, assistant coach Alex Tanguay, forwards Carter Rowney, Givani Smith, Filip Zadina, Michael Rasmussen and Robby Fabbri, all of whom are currently in protocol. Defensemen Marc Staal and Danny DeKeyser and forward Tyler Bertuzzi all recently came off the list.

No makeup dates have been announced. The Red Wings game was the Wild's last before the NHL's Christmas break; now the team will be off for at least six days following Monday night's game at Dallas.

No makeup dates have been announced. The Red Wings game was the Wild's last before the NHL's Christmas break; now the team will be off for at least six days following Monday night's game at Dallas.

The Wild's first game after the break is scheduled for Dec. 27 at Winnipeg. That game remains on as scheduled, although the NHL announced Sunday that it suspended all games set for this week involving games requiring cross-border travel.