Tonight's Blue Jackets/Senators game may be forced to be postponed as flight delays stack up

The NHL returned after their holiday break on Saturday night, and with another break scheduled around the Olympics in February, the next six weeks will be crucial to the season for so many teams around the National Hockey League.

Two of these teams are the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets, both of whom have set themselves up nicely in the incredibly tight race in the Eastern Conference, with every game crucial to the Stanley Cup Playoffs race this year.

The two are set to do battle at 5.30 PM ET on Monday night, but as of right now, reports on social media have revealed a delay in Columbus' flights to Ottawa, meaning that some are bracing for a change.

However, things are now looking up, with both Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun and Aaron Portzline of The Athletic now revealing that alternative measures are being taken and things should go ahead as close to on time as possible.

Unfortunately, it appears the Blue Jackets will not be getting the ideal preparation for this one, and while they're likely to arrive on time, the NHLPA have been notified of just how late they'll arrive, and they could push for a delayed start to this one.

Portzline did also reveal that these issues were mechanical, rather than a result of the weather, which hasn't been great in the North East over the holiday break.

Now, we will wait and see how things play out, but as of right now, it appears things will go ahead, whether that means a short delay to the expected starting time or not.