The Hockey News Nov. 25/19 - Goalie

It’s Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. Which current goalie do you want between the pipes? Carey Price. His stats the past few seasons may convince others otherwise, but his poise and calmness are second to none.– Jacob Pate Henrik Lundqvist. His Game 7record: 6-2, 0.99 goals-against average and .961 save percentage.– @RFuks Braden Holtby. He’s won the Stanley Cup, has historically amazing playoff numbers and has proven that he can always pull himself out of the tough stretches where his game isn’t as strong as it should be. He checks all the boxes. – @DannyNovaScotia Jordan Binnington. He just took the Blues to hostile territory for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final and won, beating Tuukka Rask. I remember a couple of insane saves. That is my answer and I hate…

IS THERE ANYTHING A raccoon can’t do? The internet tells me they’re as smart as some monkeys, they can ride bikes and pick locks using only their sense of touch. My eyes tell me they can treat your property like an Airbnb. Over the years, we’ve had trash pandas living in our garage, lounging under our deck, snoozing in a stairwell and doing it like they do on the Discovery Channel underneath our BBQ cover. Recently a masked furball pulled a Goldilocks on our patio furniture. Bear in mind, I’d tightly secured a tarp over the sofa and placed heavy weights on top of it to prevent this very home invasion. I tip my hat to their resourcefulness, persistence…and resemblance to The Hockey News editorial staff during an issue-planning meeting. This…

Dear readers, I’ve received notes via LinkedIn from old friends and teammates, as well as people I’ve never met, applauding me for following my passion and building my brand in the business of hockey. I feel grateful and flattered every time. And, each time I acquire a new business, I get a flurry of social-media activity, which I do my best to answer, whether it’s congratulatory words or criticism. Every once in a while, I get a notification that really stands out. This happened recently when I received a connection request combined with an offer from a true heavyweight in the global media industry. The writer identified one of the global brands his group owns, and he asked if I’d be interested in discussing The Hockey News. We scheduled a phone call, and…

JORDAN BINNINGTON hoisted the 2019 Stanley Cup, and it might have felt lighter for him than for most goalies. Between the AHL, NHL regular season and playoffs, he appeared in 74 games last season. Added up, it was a starter’s workload, sure. But stretched out from October to June? Meh. Martin Brodeur used to pack 74 games between October and April. By June during his championship years, he’d crest 90 games. So Binnington was lemon-fresh by comparison when his Blues won it all last June. So were the three 2018-19 Vezina Trophy finalists. Winner Andrei Vasilevskiy and runners-up Ben Bishop and Robin Lehner started 53, 45 and 43 regular-season games, respectively. Their “backups,” Louis Domingue, Anton Khudobin and Thomas Greiss, combined to average 34 starts with a .920 save percentage. They…

LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY | 2019-20 THE NEWEST DIV. I women’s hockey program hails from Long Island University, and they’ve got a jersey to be reckoned with. The LIU Sharks are the first of their name, since the university recently unified two campuses – the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds and LIU Post Pioneers. The Sharks nickname won out over Eagles and Falcons in a vote by students and alumni. The sweater is reminiscent of Sweden’s classic uniform, but with a really nice light blue to go with the gold. As for the logo itself, it’s a sharp shark. Put it all together and you’ve got a great look for a program that wasn’t afraid to take on big names like Wisconsin and Yale in its first season.…

VLADISLAV TRETIAK IS THE greatest goaltender to never play in the NHL – but it wasn’t for a lack of trying by some teams. The Montreal Canadiens drafted Tretiak in 1983 but couldn’t secure his release from the Soviet Union. By the end of the decade, the USSR allowed its older players to leave for the NHL, including Tretiak, but he had retired in 1984. The Chicago Blackhawks hired him as a goaltending coach ahead of the 1990-91 season – but the Hawks had a hidden agenda. Chicago GM Mike Keenan wanted to sign the then-38-year-old Tretiak to a player contract and had planned on suiting him up in the team’s annual “red vs. white scrimmage” to see how he would do. However, the NHL nixed that idea, since Chicago…