Lightning forced to make important change minutes before game

Earlier today, it was confirmed that out of the two games left on the schedule on Tuesday night, one was being postponed - the contest between the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers.

Then, the Vegas Golden Knights, who are set to face the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning later on, made the announcement that Evgenii Dadonov and Alex Pietrangelo are unavailable for tonight’s game due to COVID-19 protocol.

And then, moments before the game, it was Tampa’s turn to be impacted again by the outbreak. It was announced that head coach Jon Cooper has entered COVID protocol. Assistant coach Derek Lalonde will run the forward lines tonight.

Tuesday’s game between the Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning is the only game remaining on the NHL schedule following the postponement of the other nine matchups on the schedule.

Then, the league-wide pause kicks off, before teams can return to action on Monday, Dec. 27.