Unless you are aware of all the hockey safety tips, it is practically impossible to defend yourself against injury in hockey due to the nature of the game. There are all sorts of issues including hard rubber pucks that get frozen in advance to hockey sticks flying about and sharp blades on skates. You will suffer with a good bruise at the very least if you get hit by a puck. When it comes to hockey, it’s the best you can hope for.
The Columbus Blue Jackets learned a valuable lesson about NHL hockey on Friday night-it’s dangerous to ’sit on a lead’ and particularly against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Down 3-1, Pittsburgh tied the game late in the third period as Ruslan Fedotenko and Alex Goligoski each lit the lamp with less than three minutes remaining. After a scoreless overtime period, Sidney Crosby scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Penguins an improbable 4-3 victory. It was the 9th win in ten games for Pittsburgh, who are a perfect 6-0-0 on the road. Columbus lost for the fifth time in six games.
The Montreal Canadiens have gotten off to a slow start this season, and entered Thursday night’s game against the New York Islanders having gone thirteen games without a win in regulation dating back to last season. Apparently, all they needed to cure their ails was a team that was struggling more than they are. The Habs jumped on them early scoring three goals in the first two periods en route to a 5-1 victory at the Bell Centre. Montreal improved to 4-5-0 with the victory while the Islanders dropped to 1-4-3.
After losing the services of starting goalie Roberto Luongo for the indefinite future with a broken rib, the Canucks may have breathed a sigh of relief too soon after backup goalie Andrew Raycroft’s performance in his first game in relief. After an excellent effort in an overtime victory over Los Angeles, Raycroft was torched for four goals in two periods before being pulled from the game. The Canucks scored twice in the first five minutes of the game to lead 2-0 before giving up seven unanswered goals.
Although many of his offensive records have now been left in the dust by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, former Boston Bruins/New York Rangers center Phil Esposito is still regarded by hockey experts as one of the greatest players in NHL history.
Winter games usually revolve around things like snow and ice, but when it comes to a skating or hockey rink, fun can be had year round. To get in on the action, non pro teams will have to schedule time on the ice. These allotted sessions, known as “ice time” can be doled out a number of ways.