to move up and down
Canadiens centre Lars Eller left unconscious after hit by Senators’ Eric Gryba
The Montreal Canadiens are down a game and a key player early in their series with the Ottawa Senators.
Canadiens centre Lars Eller was left unconscious and bleeding on the ice after taking a big hit from Ottawa defenceman Eric Gryba in the second period Senators’ 4-2 victory in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarter-final on Thursday night.
“It’s tough seeing a guy laying in a heap with blood coming out,” said Canadiens centre Ryan White. “You never want to see that.” (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)
Ah yes, famous people come out in droves for playoff games — especially since ticket prices are off the wall. Last night’s example: Glee stars Lea Michele and Cory Monteith (who is Canadian) took in the Canucks vs. Sharks game in Vancouver. ARE THEY BAD LUCK? (Photo: Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
Infographic: The fight for the Stanley Cup
Much angst, and ink, has been spilled in recent years over fighting in hockey. Progressives say ban fighting. Traditionalists say ‘over our dead bodies.’ A moral debate rages. Yet what seldom gets asked is: How does fighting affect a team’s performance? Does toughness win games? Is meting out an ugly black eye as valuable as scoring a pretty goal? Let’s drop the gloves, shall we, and look at the numbers. (Illustration by Mike Faille)
Since it has been awhile since the Leafs have been made the playoffs has a refresher on the protocols.
(via nationalpostsports)
NHL is ahead of its time after partnering with You Can Play
“This is evolution for us,” says Gary Bettman from his office in New York, after an afternoon spent running the media gauntlet. The National Hockey League and the NHLPA had formally announced a partnership with You Can Play on Thursday, becoming the first league to partner with a group dedicated to fighting homophobia in sports, and the commissioner had toured the major networks. Now, Bettman sounds happy. He sounds proud.“The way it will do the league good is it will create the right environment for the league and our fans,” Bettman said. “We have been very clear in terms of what we believe is the right thing.” He’s on speakerphone, and he says to hold on for a second so he can look up and read aloud the anti-discrimination language in the 2005 collective bargaining agreement. It included sexual orientation. This is a bigger step, though.
It’s been a little more than a year since You Can Play was launched in the wake of the death of Patrick Burke’s younger brother Brendan (pictured above with the rest of the Burke family, far right), who had come out to ESPN a few months before he died in a snowy car accident in Indiana. It has been a year of patience, even as things moved fast. Burke has been very careful not to shame sports into changing for the better, but instead has worked to convince them that YCP could be trusted. No angry press releases, no PR stunt. Just methodical work.
You Can Play already had a significant presence in the NHL, with over 60 players in its PSAs, from Zdeno Chara to Steven Stamkos to Carey Price. But now it’s part of the playbook, and that’s progress. (Photos: PNG/Files/Matthew Sherwood for National Post)
Here we go: Six more hours of speculation as the 2013 NHL trade deadline looms. Will it be more dudline than deadline? Follow our live coverage (to be treated to more puns). (Photo: The Canadian Press/NHL via Getty Images)
REUNITED: Jarome Iginla is now with the Pittsburgh Penguins, in case you went to bed at a decent hour. It was a strange night: At one point, the media was all but certain the Flames captain was headed for the Boston Bruins … but that was not the case. (Photo: The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh)
Great perspective on an interesting set of photos. So why not follow our friends NationalPostPhotos on Tumblr?
It’s unusual for a photographer to capture a tight photo of the goalie’s face with the puck during a game, but Canadian Press photographer Jonathan Hayward managed to capture it twice in the Vancouver- Columbus game in Vancouver on Tuesday March 26, 2013. In the left photo he Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider is eyeballing the puck and in the right Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Sharp shooting Jonathan!
Mr. T scored a goal at the Blackhawks game on Tuesday night during a promotion at intermission. In the leadup, he was asked for his prediction about the shot from centre ice.
He responded the only way Mr. T knows how: “PAIN. I pity that puck.”
The many suits of Don Cherry
Edmonton Oilers sit on bales of hay as they wait their turn to play in an game of outdoor shinny after the Oilers first day of NHL training camp in Edmonton, Alta., on Sunday. (Photo: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson)
The end? An unexpected bomb appears to have dropped on the eve of training camp, with multiple reports suggesting the Toronto Maple Leafs have fired general manager Brian Burke.
Burke was named general manager on Nov. 29, 2008. The Leafs hold the NHL’s longest active post-season drought, having not made the playoffs since 2004.
Several Leafs officials could not be reached for comment, but the team scheduled a news conference promising a major announcement at 1:45 p.m. ET.
Great shirt, or greatest shirt? Washington Capitals player Alex Ovechkin was sporting a funny shirt, when he met the media on Tuesday in Arlington, Va., which asked ‘Am I really the prettiest one here, again?’ (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/The Associated Press)
Still suckers for the game: Don’t expect hockey fans to boycott the season
“There is more to the game than a lockout. People might be aggravated and pissed off about it, but the game, the game itself, is exciting and we are social animals — and we want to affiliate with something — we want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and our teams become the focal points.”
The Quantified Year: Nine charts that define 2012
Here’s Sarah Lazarovic’s handy, chart-i-fied guide to the year that was.
