Two of Boston’s major-league sports teams scrubbed games in response to the fatal explosions Monday near the Boston Marathon finish line.
The National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins postponed Monday’s game against the Ottawa Senators and the National Basketball Association’s Boston Celtics cancelled Tuesday’s scheduled contest with the Indiana Pacers.
“After consultation with city, state and NHL officials we collectively made the decision to postpone tonight’s game. Public safety personnel from the city and state are still gathering information regarding today’s events and it is vital they have all resources available for their investigation,” Bruins president Cam Neely said in a statement.
A Boston Globe reporter on the scene at the TD Garden said players already had begun arriving at the arena for the Monday game, but were departing with their equipment even before the official announcement.
The arena is about two miles from the Copley Square, site of the afternoon explosions. But there were several reports of other suspicious packages around the city and Police Commissioner Ed Davis advised everybody in the city to stay home and avoid large crowds.
The NHL said the game would be made up, but no date was immediately announced.However, finding the right date might be difficult because the NHL regular season is nearly over and the league already was operating on a tightened and shortened schedule because of a pre-season lockout.
The game also is important to both teams. The Bruins are locked in a tight battle with the Montreal Canadiens for the Northeast Division title and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Senators are also in playoff contention.
Further complicating matters is the Celtics, who share TD Garden with the Bruins and have qualified for the NBA playoffs, which begin this weekend.
But because Tuesday’s Celtics-Pacers is of no consequence to the standings — both teams have made the playoffs and already are locked into their seedlings — the NBA cancelled the game outright.
Baseball’s Boston Red Sox played their traditional Patriots’ Day afternoon home game before the blasts.
Indeed, the Marathon runs by Fenway Park, with the finish line just a short walk away, and the game and the marathon are traditionally timed to end at about the same time.
The Red Sox are on the road for the next few days. There was no immediate word on the team site about their next home game, Friday against the Kansas City Royals.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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