Bruins, Lightning learned of NBA walkouts after getting to rink

Members of the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning insisted Wednesday that they were made aware upon arriving to the rink that the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to play their NBA playoff game in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

As a result, there wasn't enough time to make a decision on delaying their own postseason clash.

"It was so close to our game that we were just getting ready," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, according to NHL.com's Wes Crosby. "We support fighting against racism and injustice. There's different ways to express that fight. Obviously, NBA players expressed their opinions about it by boycotting the games today. We support it."

"We really didn't find out that the other leagues had taken their stances when we got here tonight," Lightning defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said, per Fox Sports. "I think for us, it's something we found out by the time got to the rink and something we'll have to address going forward."

The Bucks didn't take the court for Game 5 of their first-round series versus the Orlando Magic earlier in the afternoon. All games on Wednesday's NBA schedule were subsequently postponed.

All scheduled WNBA contests along with three MLB games were also called off.

The NHL held a moment of reflection to condemn racial injustice and acknowledge Blake's family prior to Game 3 between the Bruins and Lightning.

There was no moment of remembrance prior to the Dallas Stars-Colorado Avalanche clash in the Western Conference bubble, according to The Athletic's Thomas Drance.

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