NHL GOALTENDING STATISTICS

Sakic a Hart-stopper

When Joe Sakic acted up as a kid in Burnaby, B.C., his father Mario sent him not to his room, but to the basement. There little Joe would dutifully pick up his hockey stick, cradle a puck on the blade and begin stickhandling on the smooth floor, back and forth, back and forth. Minutes passed. His arms began to ache. He kept going. Mario, an immigrant from Croatia, would sit upstairs and listen for his son’s gentle stick-puck caresses below. For a half-hour or more, the rhythm rising from the floorboards had to be smooth and sure. The old man wouldn’t tolerate anything else. “You couldn’t chop at it,” Sakic recalled. “Your forearms would be tired. In the end it has benefited, I guess.” For NHL goalies, it’s the punishment that keeps on…

Cape Breton goaltender getting scouts’ attention after first round upset

Daniel Boisclair is the first to admit he has had easier seasons. The sophomore goalie and his Cape Breton teammates struggled all year, but everything was rosy after the Screaming Eagles ousted the Chicoutimi Sagueneens 4-3 in the first round of the QMJHL playoffs. The secret to his success is a new sense of self-esteem. “I had a good start to the season and then the whole team struggled on defense,” Boisclair said. “I don’t know what happened, but no one was respecting the game plan. But suddenly everything changed during February and March. Everyone showed confidence in each other and we started playing like we should have all year.” Ironically, it was a 7-1 blowout by the Sagueneens in Game 3 that was Boisclair’s personal turning point. Despite being lit up as…

Gilbert not sure if he’ll return to coach Flames

Greg Gilbert created a stir of sorts on the day of the Calgary Flames’ break-up party, announcing to reporters that he has not yet decided if he wants to return to coach the team next season. Describing himself as the “quote-unquote interim head coach,” Gilbert said he wanted assurances from upper management that everybody was on the same page philosophically. Gilbert took over from Don Hay with 14 games remaining in the season and posted a 4-8-2 record as the Flames finished with 73 points, four fewer than they did a year ago when Brian Sutter was the coach. “I just want to make sure we’re all going in the same direction,” Gilbert said. “I don’t want to be stuck in a situation where there isn’t going to be the changes made that…