Thursday's Montreal Canadiens game played without fans in Bell Centre amid COVID-19 concerns
CTV
The Montreal Canadiens played Thursday night's game in an empty arena in a sudden change, after ticketholders were told to stay home.
The news comes amid a rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in Quebec and concerns about the Omicron variant.
"Faced with the spiraling rise of COVID-19 cases in the region, late this afternoon the Montreal Canadiens organization received a request from Quebec public health officials to host tonight's game against the Philadelphia Flyers in a closed setting with no fans in attendance at the Bell Centre," a news release read.
An update on the status of Saturday's scheduled game against the Boston Bruins will be provided on Friday, the team said.
A message to ticketholders that circulated on social media said they would be reimbursed for their tickets, and that holders of season's tickets would be returned the amount for the game in account credit.
