Kings-Wild game won’t be played Saturday because of COVID-19 protocol issues

For the first time this NHL season, COVID-19 health and safety protocols have forced an alteration to the Kings’ schedule.

The team’s home game Saturday against the Minnesota Wild has been postponed because of protocol-related issues with the Wild, the league said in a statement Monday. No makeup date was announced.

For now, the Kings and Wild are still scheduled to play on Feb. 16 at Staples Center. The Wild’s following two games in Anaheim against the Ducks, scheduled for Feb. 18 and 20, also remain unaffected.

The Wild have been one of several NHL teams severely impacted by COVID protocol absences in recent weeks. As of Sunday, the team had nine players listed on the league’s COVID protocol list and had previously announced the postponement of three games.

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The announcement Monday confirmed that Minnesota will miss two more contests: a home game against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday and the first of what was supposed to be a two-game series in Los Angeles two days later.

The league also announced game postponements for two other teams on Monday: two for the Buffalo Sabres and three for the New Jersey Devils. So far this season, seven clubs have been put on pause for virus-related reasons. Since the season began on Jan. 13, there have been 33 game postponements.

The latest schedule change will leave the Kings — who have dealt with their own COVID protocol issues this season, most recently including the absence of forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Blake Lizotte — with a four-day gap in the schedule following Thursday’s game against the San Jose Sharks.