James Reimer keeps flinching and he doesn’t like it.Several times in practice already this season Ryan Miller Jersey , the Florida Panthers goaltender has braced for a shot up high because he is wearing smaller, more formfitting chest and arm protectors required by the NHL.“I’ve never flinched in my life,” Reimer said. “I consider myself a tough guy. I’m from the country. I can take a few bruises here and there. But at what point? At what point is one guy going to let one loose and a guy’s going to break his arm?”Those are some of the questions goalies around the league are asking, and some of them have the bruises to show for it after equipment changes agreed to by the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association. Goalie pads and pants have already been tweaked with the overall aim of boosting scoring while rewarding athletic ability in the crease.The league is trying to address concerns. The hope is to make goalies feel safe in chest protectors that are roughly an inch smaller and tighter to the body than past models.“I think the guys that have tried multiple units, they’ve found something that has pleased them and they go out there and do their job,” said NHL vice president of hockey operations Kay Whitmore, the former goalie who’s in charge of this department at the league office. “I deal with each one of those guys on a daily basis and trying to make them understand what they need and what we can get them, and get them out there and feeling comfortable. It’s been working.”Whitmore fielded complaints through training camp, but last week said the number has dwindled. Some goalies eased their concerns by adding some more padding or switching to another chest protector, while others are still dealing with the change.Philadelphia’s Brian Elliott complained of bruises early in the season in an interview with the Courier-Post, and two-time Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky of the Blue Jackets last week told the Columbus Dispatch he fears getting hit by pucks and called the equipment change “terrible.” Coming off winning the Stanley Cup with Washington, Braden Holtby is less concerned about bruising and more worried about a significant injury.“Sooner or later someone’s going to get hurt pretty bad,” Holtby said after feeling the sting of a few shots at a morning skate. “You can deal with bumps and bruises and stuff. It’s when you hope someone doesn’t get a broken bone or some sort out of it. If they keep making things like that, they’re going to have to start monitoring the stick technology because guys shoot so hard right now we’ll have no choice but to be bigger.”Whitmore is the man in the middle of it all trying to satisfy the 31 general managers who recommended the change while also working with the Players’ Association, goaltenders and manufacturers to make things right. That’s a continuing process, though the NHL is confident goalies are not in danger because of the rule change.“I’m not throwing these guys out there in harm’s way where they can’t even play,” said Whitmore, who played 155 games over 15 years during his professional career. “It’s going to continue to evolve as we go, but not from the standpoint where we’re worried on a nightly basis about what’s going to happen to a guy.”Remembering previous changes to smaller pads and pants, New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist noticed the difference right away with his new chest protector. When it didn’t feel right, he talked to Whitmore and made the necessary adjustments to be compliant and comfortable.“It was tight and hard to move and you got exposed in a couple areas where you had to talk to Kay and make sure it was OK to cover your shoulders,” Lundqvist said. “I just made some adjustments just make sure it was exactly the way I wanted and the league wanted it, so it’s all good now.”Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury added an extra undershirt to provide some more padding, and Holtby is working in a new chest protector after wearing a CCM model since junior hockey. Reimer, who got his new chest protector mid-summer and wanted to make changes, said he ordered a new one weeks ago but won’t be able to receive it until the end of the month because companies are backed up with orders.“What am I supposed to do Womens Alex Goligoski Jersey , play the first month with a chest protector that’s not as protective?” Reimer said. “It’s unfortunate that the whole situation is like this.”The goal was to level the playing field where goalies weren’t wearing oversized chest protectors just to get a competitive advantage. Reimer wants the NHL to allow goalies to go back to last year when he felt they were protected, but Whitmore is putting the onus on companies to adapt and make better products.“We’re not changing it now,” Whitmore said. “We’ve thought long and hard about the shape we wanted guys to look like.”MIGHTY QUINNIn his first season as Rangers coach, David Quinn hasn’t been afraid to send a message to underperforming players of all ages by scratching them. Defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, Neal Pionk and Adam McQuaid and forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Pavel Buchnevich have already gotten the healthy-scratch treatment. Shattenkirk had two assists and a shootout goal in his second game back, Pionk responded to his benching with a three-point night and the message seems to be getting through to a young, rebuilding bunch.“Guys have done a good job coming back from it,” Quinn said. “This is all about making them the best player they can possibly be. We all need to be held accountable, and sometimes you need a little bit of a wakeup call. These guys have handled it well.”NO BULLNashville coach Peter Laviolette bet his players that if the Predators swept the Flames and Oilers on their swing through Alberta, he’d wear a full bull mask for his postgame interview. Laviolette made good on that promise Saturday night after backup Juuse Saros shut out Edmonton 3-0 to help Nashville improve to 7-1-0.GAME OF THE WEEKPatrik Laine and the Winnipeg Jets visit Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night in a matchup of Canada’s best bets to win the Stanley Cup. BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Steven Stamkos broke a tie with 5:16 remaining in the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lightning’s 5-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Ryan Callahan also scored, and Louis Domingue stopped 30 shots. The Lightning have won 18 of their last 20.Sam Reinhart, Tage Thompson and Marco Scandella scored for Buffalo.Scandella gave Buffalo a 3-2 lead at 5:54 of the third, chipping home a pass from Jason Pominville from close range.Just 23 seconds later, the Lightning took advantage of a bad giveaway by Sabres defenseman Lawrence Pilut, and Stamkos found Kucherov for his 22nd goal of the season.Stamkos then put Tampa Bay ahead for good late, taking a drop pass from Kucherov and firing a hard shot to Ullmark’s blocker side.BLUE JACKETS 2, CAPITALS 1, OTWASHINGTON (AP) — Cam Atkinson scored his 25th goal of the season, Artemi Panarin connected in overtime and Columbus beat Washington after the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals lost All-Star goaltender Braden Holtby to an eye injury.Panarin scored in overtime for the second straight game.Holtby took a stick to the left eye from Atkinson through his mask in the second period. He left the game, giving way to backup Pheonix Copley, and the team said Holtby was still being evaluated.Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo stopped 32 shots in his second consecutive start in place of Sergei Bobrovsky, who backed up after being scratched Thursday for disciplinary reasons. Coach John Tortorella did not commit to starting Bobrovsky in the second half of his team’s back-to-back this weekend.After Atkinson beat Holtby a minute into the game on a breakaway, Columbus was cruising toward a regulation victory until Evgeny Kuznetsov tied it with 1:06 left. The 6-on-5 goal was Kuznetsov’s first in 18 games dating to Dec. 2.But Panarin snapped Washington’s winning streak at four games and gave the Blue Jackets back-to-back wins with a power-play goal 3:30 into overtime.BRUINS 3 Christian Dvorak Jersey , MAPLE LEAFS 2TORONTO (AP) — David Pastrnak scored a tie late in the second period and Boston beat Toronto.Sean Kuraly had a goal and two assists, David Krecji also scored, and Tuukka Rask made 30 saves. Boston won the season series 3-1 and moved within two points of Toronto for second place in the Atlantic Division.Mitch Marner and Andreas Johnsson scored for Toronto.RANGERS 2, ISLANDERS 1NEW YORK (AP) — Mats Zuccarello scored late in the third period and the New York Rangers beat the Islanders for their first victory at Barclays Center.Zuccarello redirected the winner with his skate from in front of the net for his fifth goal of the season. Filip Chytil also scored and Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves to help the Rangers win in Brooklyn for the first time since the Islanders began playing home games there in 2015.The Islanders had been 13-2-0 in the teams’ previous 15 meetings overall.The game completed a home-and-home series that began Thursday night with the Islanders’ 4-3 victory at Madison Square Garden. It also marked the final meeting between the Big Apple rivals this season, with each team winning two games.Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Islanders.GOLDEN KNIGHTS 4, BLACKHAWKS 3, OTCHICAGO (AP) — Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore scored 1:19 into overtime when Chicago’s Carl Dahlstrom slid the puck into his own net.Theodore was driving when Dahlstrom knocked it away and through the legs of goaltender Collin Delia. It was Theodore’s first goal since he scored twice in an 8-3 victory at Chicago on Nov. 27.Alex Tuch, Ryan Carpenter and Paul Stastny also scored for Vegas, which won for the eighth time in nine games. Marc-Andre Fleury made 20 saves. Tuch extended his points streak to a franchise-record nine games in the Golden Knights’ second season.Alex DeBrincat scored twice, and Patrick Kane added a goal for Chicago.DEVILS 3, FLYERS 2NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Rookie Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves in his return from an injury, helping New Jersey beat Philadelphia.Damon Severson, Nico Hischier and Miles Wood scored for New Jersey. The Devils won for the second time in six games and handed the Flyers their ninth loss in 10 games.James Van Riemsdyk and Sean Couturier scored for Philadelphia.RED WINGS 5, WILD 2ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Tyler Bertuzzi had his first career hat trick and Detroit beat Minnesota to end a three-game losing streak.Playing in his 100th career game, Bertuzzi completed his three-goal performance at 8:38 of the third period, converting a feed from Nyquist by lifting a backhand past Devan Dubnyk.Thomas Vanek had two goals, and Jimmy Howard made 17 saves for the Red Wings, winners for the second time in 11 games. Nino Niederreiter and Luke Kunin scored for the Wild.KINGS 5, PENGUINS 2LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jonathan Quick stopped 38 shots to get his 301st win, helping Los Angeles snap Pittsburg’s six-game road winning streak.Quick tied Mike Richter for fourth place in career wins by an American goalie, reaching the mark in his 577th game and matching the former Rangers goalie’s total in 666 games.Jeff Carter had a goal and two assists, Anze Kopitar scored twice, and Alex Iafallo and Brendan Leipsic had one ech for the Kings, who had lost four of their past five.Jake Guentzel scored short-handed and power-play goals and Casey DeSmith made 20 saves for the Penguins http://www.officialcoyotes.com/authentic-adidas-clayton-keller-jersey , who lost for the second time in their past 12 games.CANADIENS 3, AVALANCHE 0MONTREAL (AP) — Carey Price stopped 28 shots for his third shutout of the season and 43rd overall to help Montreal beat Colorado.Brett Kulak, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jordie Benn scored in the third period. The Canadiens had lost three of their last four. The Avalanche have lost nine of 10.BLUES 3, STARS 1DALLAS (AP) — Rookie goalie Jordan Binnington won his third straight start, Vladimir Tarasenko scored two goals and St. Louis topped Dallas.Binnington, who has played in six NHL games, is 3-0 in three starts. The 25-year-old has allowed only two goals in those starts. Binnington shut out Philadelphia 1-0 on Monday and beat Montreal 4-1 Thursday.He made 21 saves on Saturday, the first time he has started consecutive games.Pat Maroon also scored for the Blues, who have won two straight for the fifth time this season.Erik Condra scored for Dallas. Ben Bishop made 25 saves.COYOTES 3, OILERS 2EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Conor Garland scored a pair of power-play goals, including one that went in off his face and left him bloodied, and Arizona won its third straight.Jordan Oesterle also scored for the Coyotes.Connor McDavid and Kris Russell scored for the Oilers, who have lost nine of 12.Garland’s second goal came on a scary play as a point shot struck him in the face when he was in the crease and went into the net. Garland was bleeding heavily and taken to the dressing room. He returned to the game.SHARKS 4, SENATORS 1SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Brent Burns scored his fourth game-winning goal and, Martin Jones made 27 saves for San Jose.The Sharks, who own the second-best home record this season at 16-4-4, have won six straight games and are 8-1-0 in their last nine along with a five-game win streak at home.Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton and Melker Karlsson also scored for San Jose. Jones has allowed two or fewer goals in four straight starts.Ryan Dzingel scored the lone goal for Ottawa while Anders Nilsson, acquired Jan. 2 in a trade with Vancouver, made his fifth consecutive start for the Senators and stopped 28 shots. « last time Arizona had the ball.INJURIESDetroityour hair in a manner » Weitere Artikel der Kategorie Allgemein |
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