Shields Doing Job, but They’re Not Perfect

The eye shield has become popular in the NHL. Calgary’s Gary Roberts, for one, wouldn’t be without one--but he says it’s not without its difficulties.

“I found that when I wore it for (the first) two weeks, I got stuck more in the face than before,” Roberts says. “My helmet was getting knocked off, and after two weeks, I had to change the visor, it had so many scratches on it.”

Why does it seem to be more dangerous to wear a visor?

“Maybe guys take less precautions when they see you with a visor, thinking ‘I can’t hurt them anyway’,” Roberts said, “and maybe (they) get a little more loose with their stick.”

In a TV interview between periods of a New York Ranger game, general manager Neil Smith revealed that he had been invited to Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration.

Naturally, Smith found a way to relate it to hockey.

“He proved that someone could win the big one at Madison Square Garden,” said Smith, alluding to the Rangers’ long and unsuccessful chase for the Stanley Cup.

Clinton, of course, won the Democratic nomination at the Garden over the summer.

New York Islander rookie defenseman Darius Kasparaitis is earning a reputation around the league as someone to watch. Kasparaitis uses his body on opposing forwards like a bowling ball striking a ten-pin.

He plays no favorites, either, hitting superstars as much as the lesser lights of opposing teams. Recently, the Vancouver Canucks found that out.

Early on in a 5-4 Canuck victory, Kasparaitis found Trevor Linden with his head down. Linden then found himself down, courtesy of a bone-rattling check from the Lithuanian rookie. Later in the game, Kasparaitis stuck out his hip and submarined Geoff Courtnall. Both players bounced back up from their respective hits.

“I saw it coming,” Courtnall said. “I just couldn’t get out of the way.”

Courtnall didn’t seem upset by the check, but his coach, Pat Quinn, was less than thrilled.

“I don’t know if it was a legal check or not, but it certainly is one that has ended some careers,” Quinn said. “Bobby Orr would still be playing if it weren’t for hits like that.”

Pittsburgh’s Kevin Stevens is enjoying, and profiting, from the rules changes this season that favor skill players.

“I think it’s been great for me, personally, the holding the stick calls especially,” he says. “I think it’s been a better brand of hockey. Now they can’t have guys sit on your back all game.”

Stevens said the changes have made it easier to set up in front of the net. He acknowledged the holding-the-stick penalty is not being called as much now as in the pre-season and in the first few games of this season, but says it’s still working.

The Washington Capitals have turned their season around completely since an early-season slump. Alan May thinks that one of the reasons is that the Capitals have been playing “a smart physical game” and don’t take needless fighting penalties.

“We don’t just send guys out to fight. A lot of teams are still doing that, and it’s going to hurt them in the long run. When teams get into the playoffs, (those who) play that kind of hockey will be affected, and they’ll be on the losing side every night.”

Not much was expected of the expansion Ottawa Senators this season. But goaltender Peter Sidorkiewicz says that still doesn’t make it any easier playing for the NHL’s worst team.

“Obviously, if more is expected, there’s more stress (but) it’s not as if we’re in there laughing and joking,” Sidorkiewicz says. “We’re trying to do our best. We’re professionals, we have pride, we don’t want to go out there and get beat every night, and it does get frustrating.”

Right now, some of the Senators admit to a modest goal: to finish ahead of the all-time worst NHL record established by the Washington Capitals (8-67-5 for 21 points) in their inaugural 1974-75 season.

Forget that old joke about going to a fight and having a hockey game break out. When you think of hockey, the NHL wants you to think of skill instead of premeditated violence.

The NHL says it has hired a Boston advertising agency to create a television campaign designed to broaden the sport’s appeal and clean up its image. The ads emphasize the speed and grace of a sportgenerally known nationally for its fighting and missing front teeth.

“We made a contrarian decision to avoid the rock-em-sock-em-jump-start approach of most sports promotion,” says Skip Prince, the NHL’s executive director of broadcast services. “We wanted to show that one of hockey’s strength is its poetry.”