Report: Game 3 of Flyers-Islanders Postponed in Wake of Social Injustice
As the Flyers skated in Game 2 of their series with the New York Islanders, news broke that the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA were choosing to boycott their playoff game in the wake of social injustice following the shooting of Jacob Blake. That started a movement across the sports world.
The NBA did not play. Some teams in Major League Baseball did not play. The WNBA and MLS also postponed games. The NHL carried on and played and got hit with huge backlash for doing so.
In the hours since, the Hockey Diversity Alliance, co-headed by Evander Kane and Akim Aliu and founded by a group of seven NHLers including former Flyer Wayne Simmonds and current member of the Flyers organization Chris Stewart, requested that the NHL join in this effort and not play.
The NHL has joined in this effort, perhaps too late - HDA founding member Matt Dumba said the NHL is “always the last to the party on these topics” - and there will not be any games played on Thursday. According to multiple reports, Game 3 of the Flyers series with the Islanders will be postponed, along with the other game on Thursday's schedule, Game 3 between the Vegas Golden Knights and Vancouver Canucks. There are also reports that the games on Friday - Game 4 between the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning and Game 4 between the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars - will also be postponed. The NHL has not officially announced the postponements.
The NBA has already announced that they will return to action on Saturday. It sounds like the NHL will do the same.
With Game 3 now postponed, the remaining schedule for Flyers-Islanders is certainly fluid, but in this moment, it is nothing more than an insignificant detail.
There will be more to come on this story in the coming hours and days, and we will certainly keep you updated.
Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN and Flyers editor for SportsTalkPhilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.