BOSTON – The Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins have canceled their morning skates because of the manhunt for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings.
Bruins spokesman Matt Chmura said the team has no announcement yet on whether it will proceed with Friday night’s NHL game at TD Garden.
The Boston Red Sox also are on hold for their night game against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park. Red Sox spokesman Kevin Gregg said the Royals have been in town since Wednesday night and spent their off day in the city on Thursda
The bombings on Monday killed three people and wounded more than 180. Police identified two suspects. One was killed during a shootout with police and the other was being sought during a massive manhunt across the city and surrounding areas.
The Bruins also announced that the sale of playoff tickets, scheduled to start at 11 a.m. on Friday, has been postponed until 11 a.m. on Monday.
The New England Patriots postponed for the second time a news conference with director of player personnel Nick Caserio about next week’s NFL draft. The news conference originally had been scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed after the bombings. It has been rescheduled for Monday.
The bombings already have resulted in two major pro sports games in Boston getting scratched — the Bruins against the Ottawa Senators last Monday night and the Indiana Pacers against the Celtics on Tuesday night. The Bruins game was rescheduled for April 28. The Celtics game was canceled outright, and the NBA’s regular season ended on Wednesday.
The Celtics are scheduled to begin the first round of the playoffs Saturday in New York against the Knicks.
The Bruins resumed play on Wednesday night at home against the Buffalo Sabres. Before the game, there was a moment of silence, a slideshow of marathon scenes on the video scoreboard above center ice and a stirring rendition of the national anthem, which was started by long-time Bruins vocalist Rene Rancourt. He sang a few lines then gestured for the fans to join in — which they did.
“We are trying to put on a show for the fans and, hopefully, give them some sort of escape,” Buffalo’s Drew Stafford said after the game. “With everything that happened, emotions were extremely high tonight. I am sure that there were not a lot of dry eyes in the stands during the anthem.”
After the game, players gathered at center ice and raised their sticks in a salute to the fans who had chanted “U.S.A.” and “We are Boston.”
The Red Sox had finished their game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday about 45 minutes before the explosions occurred about a mile away from Fenway. They boarded a plane to Cleveland after their 3-2 victory for a three-game series against the Indians. Boston completed a sweep of the series on Thursday night then returned for a 10-game homestand.
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