With leagues around North America shutting down, at least temporarily, it was clear that the NHL would follow the same path on Thursday. And at about 1:30 pm eastern time, New York Islanders fans and hockey fans around the globe found out that NHL would, in fact, pause the season.
Again, this was necessary to try and stop the spread of the coronavirus to fans, media, and the players and anyone they come into contact with.
So for the time being, the 2019-20 NHL season is on hold.