Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies

More goals, more hurt goalies

The NHL's crackdown on obstruction leaves netminders exposed to onrushing offensive players.

TAMPA - Islanders forward Jason Blake scooted down right wing and, like a heat-seeking missile, zeroed in on Lightning goaltender John Grahame.

Blake tried to push the puck past Grahame while running into him in the crease. The toppling goalie made a crucial third-period save, but no penalty was called on Blake, who took advantage of a clear path to the net.

Don't blame Tampa Bay's defender, who was a half-step behind the gnat-like New Yorker.

Many goalies have complained the NHL's anti-obstruction rules, which prevent defensemen from riding opponents off the puck or doing much to slow them down, have put them in the crosshairs. "They're coming around the corner, and they have a full head of steam. And they're not likely to get out of the way if they don't have to," Grahame said. "It's a pretty vulnerable position. You really can't protect yourself because you're focusing on the puck."

Grahame said it is the same when opponents aren't moved out from in front of the net. The scrambles for the puck resemble whack-a-mole competitions.

"It's getting to be just whack, whack, whack," Grahame said.

And it could be taking a toll. A look through the team notes filed before every game showed that, as of Monday, 26 goalies had missed time because of injury. Many were groin strains that likely stemmed from last season's layoff. But some were serious.

Columbus' Gilbert Brule sustained a fractured sternum when checked by Calgary's Roman Hamrlik. Former Lightning goalie Dan Cloutier (concussion) of Vancouver and Sergei Nabokov (upper body soreness) of San Jose missed time after collisions with teammates.

Detroit's Manny Legace sustained a knee injury when run over by Chicago's Matt Barnaby, and New Jersey's Martin Brodeur twisted his left knee while making an aggressive poke check in front of the net last month against Tampa Bay.

"There's a concern with so many injuries," said Brodeur, whose Devils face the Lightning tonight at the St. Pete Times Forum.

"It's just way too many after 20 games. It's crazy. So we do have to look at the reason why guys are getting hurt and the circumstances."

The Players Association's competition committee, of which Brodeur is a member, will do just that in the next few weeks on a conference call.

It is easy to get called for a penalty. Defenders are being whistled for as little as putting hands on puck carriers or tugging on jerseys during scrambles.

If a player dumps the puck into the offensive zone, backward-skating defenders no longer can get in the way. They must spin and pursue. Even incidental contact is being called.

The anti-obstruction crusade has done exactly what it was supposed to do - create offense. Through the league's first 319 games, teams averaged a combined 6.3 goals, 1.2 more than through the same number of games in 2003-04.

Defensemen are frustrated.

"There's nothing you can really do except get your stick on the puck and poke check the guy before he even gets a chance to get to the net," Tampa Bay's Cory Sarich said.

As a result, he said, "There's a lot more guys cutting to the net knowing they're not going to get rode into the boards or rode into the post. You try to do as much as you can."

And goalies are paying the price.

"I've seen the net get knocked off a ton more this year by guys going wide and the defensemen can't ride them out," the Lightning's Sean Burke said. "And there's so much congestion in the crease. The goalie is trying to cover the puck. And they're banging away, and guys are getting knocked into the goalie.

"As a goaltender, I've always said we can't be expected not to take some of the physical part of the game. Having said that, if your head is down trying to make a save and somebody runs over you, that's dangerous."

Stephen Walkom, the NHL's director of officiating, said the league figured the new rules would subject goalies to more contact. He said he put referees on red alert to keep safe the most important players on the ice.

But Walkom disagreed the rules create an unsafe situation.

He said the "settling in" process in which players understand their boundaries was inevitable. But that does not mitigate the obvious.

"There is a great responsibility on the defensive players not to push offensive players into goalies," Walkom said. "But there's an even greater responsibility on the offensive player to avoid the goalie. If that doesn't happen, I would expect our officials would have their arm in the air and call a penalty or disallow a goal."

Walkom said the league is committed for the rest of the season to the rules as written. He said there likely will be an evaluation process during the summer. For now, though, the players must adapt.

The Palm Beach Post reported Panthers coach Jacques Martin advised his players to get body position on opponents like they are going after a rebound in a basketball game. That could create more room around the crease and improve a goalie's sight lines to the puck.

Walkom said players don't have to be polite.

"We are going to allow bumping," he said. "We are going to allow body position. We are going to allow normal body checking if the puck is in the area. You can bump and grind and battle with legal means. You just can't forcefully cross-check, punch guys in the head or high stick.

"There will always be those battles within the game. That hasn't changed since the start of the season."

Brodeur said referees must ensure goalies are not on the front line.

"It's not going to improve until the referees really crack down on it," he said. "I think they do it once in a while just for the convenience of it when it really doesn't matter. But when it really matters, they don't call it.

"It's a growing process for the referees and the way they call the game also. It's just not us, the way we play. It's also them. They've got to adjust, too."