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Saturday 21 September 2019

NHL

goaltenders BROWN

getting

concussions

at an OUT

alarming

rate

AP Hockey Writer
Filip Chytil beat the last de-
fender to the net, snapped
the shot past Tuukka Rask
and barreled over the
goaltender he had just
scored on.
Rask flipped his mask off,
lay prone and needed as-
sistance to get to his feet
and to the Boston Bru-
ins locker room. The goal
counted and Chytil faced
no repercussions.
Rask suffered a concus-
sion.
"I think it's brutal, but what
can you do?" Rask said.
"The game's so fast nowa-
days and space is limited.
The guy's driving wide and
the D's half a step late,
then collisions happen."
Those kinds of collisions are
happening at an alarming
rate over the past couple
of seasons and goalten-
ders are getting hurt. Just
two goaltenders were con-
cussed in 2016-17, missing
a total of 15 games, but
over the past two seasons,
14 different goalies missed
a total of 276 games with a
concussion or head injury
caused by everything from
elbows and knees to pucks
off their helmets.
This is a jarring statistic in-
volving the most impor-
tant position in hockey,
but the NHL has not yet Patriots release Antonio Brown after
taken further steps to pro-
tect its masked men. In re- another accusation
cent years, the focus has
been on trimming the size
of goalie equipment as a
way to generate more of- New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown (17) scores a touchdown as Miami Dolphins cornerback Jomal
fense and players are rou- Wiltz (33) attempts to defend, during the first half at an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019, in Miami Gardens,
tinely coached to crash Fla.
the net whenever possible. Associated Press
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