No visor for Salvador; "Just rest" for Elias

Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador said the X-rays on his face taken after Wednesday's win over the Penguins came back negative. Salvador was struck in the left cheek and nose with a shot by Pittsburgh's Alex Goligoski with 2:13 left in the third period.

"All  considering, it's not bad at all," Salvador said. "When you take a puck in the face, it could be a lot worse. You have no broken bones. So, all considered it's pretty good."

Despite the close call, Salvador did not wear a protective visor in practice today and has no plans to wear one against the Rangers Friday night.

"I'm getting closer to putting one on," he said. "Each one of these pushes me a little more toward it, but I don't think I'm at that point. Around the holidays at this time last year, I took a stick in the face. I had a nice shiner and everything for the Christmas pictures."

Salvador said he said he just feels more comfortable playing without the visor. He admitted that part of it has to do with that it sometimes takes away from playing a tough, physical game.

"That plays into it because it's pretty tough if you have to get into a fight and you have a visor on," he said. "At this point, I just feel more comfortable without the visor on. I always have. We'll see as the years go on."

When told he didn't looked pretty good considering how bad the incident looked initially, Salvador quipped, "I'm just a naturally good-looking guy."

***

Left wing Patrik Elias said he skipped practice and worked out off ice because he was "just resting." He said he will play Friday night, though.

"We have a lot of games coming up," Elias said.

Devils coach Brent Sutter said Elias had "bumps and bruises."

"We thought we'd give him a day because we play three games in four nights," Sutter said.

***

Sutter explained that rookie left wing Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond was sent down today because he isn't going to play against the Rangers Friday with Mike Rupp coming back into the lineup and the Devils would rather him play for Lowell this weekend than sit in New Jersey.

"We'll put Ruppy back in there and it's a situation where it's good for Pierre," Sutter said. "He's got an opportunity to go down there to play rather than sitting here and watching. It's important to try to keep your young guys playing as much as you can."

Rupp is looking forward to getting back in the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the last two games.

"We're playing well right now and I'm happy to get back in and contribute," he said.

***

Defenseman Andy Greene said things went well in his first full practice with the team since he fractured his right hand on Oct. 29 against  Toronto.

"It was my first time being on the ice there (with the full team) and I thought it went pretty well," he said. "I have to give it a little bit of time to get the timing down with the passes and what not, but I kind of expected that going in."

Greene won't play Friday against the Rangers or Saturday against Buffalo, but hopes to get back into the lineup next week when the Devils play in Toronto on Tuesday and in Buffalo on Wednesday.

"Hopefully that would be a chance to get back in there," he said. 'I just have to get some good practices in here and be ready when they say."

The doctor recommended Greene continue to wear a piece of hard plastic on the back of his hand for extra protection for two more weeks. "He said he'd sleep better if I wore it for two more weeks," Greene said.

***

Devils center Bobby Holik had a couple of big hits on Pittsburgh's Kris Letang on Wednesday. Holik said that was part of the game plan because Letang is one of the Penguins' best (healthy) defensemen.

Sutter liked seeing that from Holik in his second game back from a broken right pinky.

"That's what Bobby does," Sutter said. "Bobby is in his game when he's doing those things. He's playing his game."

Comments

[Pearl Jammed]

Very foolish Bryce.... i really think all players should have to wear the Visors.... with the composite sticks, shots are coming in faster than ever(and these sticks are breaking alot quicker as well and were bound to see a face/head injury due to that soon as well) and you hate to see anyone lose an eye or suffer a severe injury like a broken jaw or somthing that could have easily been prevented by a piece of clear plastic. Someone here said it before if you going to fight, there should be an unspoken rule that the order before the fight is, Stick, gloves, HELMET... its only fair.

[modnarm]

wow Elias getting some well deserved special treatment.. hm

[mikeK]

Jammed- Ideally, it would go stick-gloves-helmet. But really, in a situation where a fight breaks out in the heat of the moment, it's hard to expect players to get their helmet off. I agree that in a sort of, I suppose as Doc would say, "scheduled" bout where fighters square off, the player should take his helmet off if he's wearing a visor.

I might be mistaken, but I believe isn't it an extra penalty if you get a fighting major if you fight while wearing a visor?

My take on visors: Injuries are part of the game. Hockey is an inherently dangerous sport. Back in the day, goalies didn't even wear masks or any type of head or eye protection, remember. It's an unfortunate side of the game that injuries occur. A player shouldn't be criticized for choosing to not wear a visor, especially for someone such as Bryce, who's been a big team player for us.

[DevilfanFLA]

ELIAS IS DESERVING OF IT...HE'S IN A ZONE RIGHT NOW AND HOPE HE STAYS THERE FOR THE NEXT 6 MONTHS!!

[Pearl Jammed]

But mikeK, the one difference between now and when Goalies did not wear masks is TECHNOLOGY...... they did not have composite sticks or even half the developments they have made with the plain old wood ones in the last 20 or 30 years. so pucks are coming in alot harder and faster than they did back then. I feel that as the science behind the game(and there is definitely science behind every game) that we need to adapt with it and protect the players

[Pearl Jammed]

sorry did not say that clearly, as the science behind the game adapts that the rules for protecting the players that play the game should adapt as well

[GD]

Prior to wearing goalie masks, pucks didn't leave the ice as much. The combination of the invention of the curved stick (andy bathgate, late 50s) with the butterfly and crouching styles of goalies (Hall, Sawchuck, also late 50s) led to the general acceptance of using a goalie mask by all goalies (starting with Plante, 59-60 season). Now it is mandatory.

Visors should be mandatory too. The technology and style behind how hockey is played today has left players too vulnerable. There is a certain level of machismo that should be abandoned. Injuries are part of any sport. Losing an eye should not be one of those injuries.

[GD]

Prior to wearing goalie masks, pucks didn't leave the ice as much. The combination of the invention of the curved stick (andy bathgate, late 50s) with the butterfly and crouching styles of goalies (Hall, Sawchuck, also late 50s) led to the general acceptance of using a goalie mask by all goalies (starting with Plante, 59-60 season). Now it is mandatory.

Visors should be mandatory too. The technology and style behind how hockey is played today has left players too vulnerable. There is a certain level of machismo that should be abandoned. Injuries are part of any sport. Losing an eye should not be one of those injuries.

[Kellyn]

I enjoyed watching Bobby Holik play last night. He's such a character guy and brings a lot of grit and raw emotion to the table and he's such an intimidating presence. You could definitely see how aware the opposing team's players were of his presence, especially after he stepped in Kristopher Letang and Jordan Staal. And he definitely succeeded in throwing Maxime Talbot off his game.

Also, last night I read on a blog that one of the colour analysts for FSN Pittsburgh mentioned during their telecast that Brian Gionta is up for free agency after this season, which I assume was a not-so-subtle hint that he thinks the Penguins should try to sign Gio in July so they can get a legitimate top-six winger to play on a line with Crosby, something Pens fans apparently feel they don't have now.

Even though he had a bit of a rough start at the beginning of the season, I think Gionta is doing really well this year on a line with Dainius Zubrus and Patrik Elias and if they continue to play the way they have been lately for the rest of the season, I would be disappointed if the Devils couldn't find a way to keep a line in tact. Of course, this all depends on whether or not Brian wants to stay with the franchise, especially if he (like just about every other good player on this team) could probably get more money playing somewhere else.

Still, it would drive me nuts to see yet another of the Devils top-six forwards that the club drafted and developed get poached by another franchise through free agency. I can see why they're attractive to other teams - the Devils are all about team defense and if a guy can't play well in his own end, he won't crack the line up no matter how many goals he can score, so most of them are solid two-way players with good offensive upside. But at the same time it's like, get your own; this one's ours! Which is why I dread the day Zach Parise comes up for free agency.

[JJ]

It should be left up to the players whether to wear a visor or not. If you make visors mandatory one could argue that you should also make a rule banning fighting.

I know this is sacrelidge to some but if you are honest you'll admit that the necessity of fighting has diminished tremendously anyway since they created the instigator rule. I'm getting to the point where I'm not sure it's even that important outside of entertainment value anymore. If anyone disagrees (and I know I'm opening a can of worms on a slow day) then why is it so rare in the playoffs when the games are that much more important?

[Salvatore from Garfield]

JJ- good point on your last sentence. Though I do see from both sides, I can't say decide on if visors should be mandatory. If I played, I would wear one.

"I'm just a naturally good-looking guy."
I really like Bryce's personality! This guy is awesome!

And Holik had an awesome game last night. Without putting up any tangible points, I think he adds A LOT to this team.

Can't wait for tomorrow :]

[AK47]

Well said Kellyn,there is no player on the market besides Hossa and Rolston who can play both ways and play well and we got one of them. Lou will never is going to get a player if he is not playing defence, regardles how many pucks he can put in the net. Players who are drafted by Devils and then have to go UFA, they are more valuable to any other club because of their ability to play offense and be very responsible in their own end.

[Spud]

If the Devils replace a hot Clemmensen with a cold Brodeur at the end of the season they are destined to be knocked out of the playoffs.

[GD]

Two things.

1. The Devils will not let Parise slip away at this point in his career. He'll sign for a few more seasons before he goes the Gomez/Holik/Driver/MacLean route.

2. The Devils should and will replace Clemmenson with Brodeur when he is ready to come back. One of these goalies is the greatest goalie of all time, with 3 cup wins, 4 Vezinas, 500+ wins. The other is a decent goalie who is currently on a hot streak in part because his team is playing impeccable defense. One is getting paid 10 times what the other is paid. Good for Clemmy, happy for him, definitely bumps his stock up and gives him a great shot at a #1 job somewhere else after this season, but you don't dog Brodeur for a flavor of the month. There are plenty of goalies who this has happened to. Last season it was Ty Conklin in Pitt, and they went with Fleury in the playoffs and that paid off big for them. If Joe MacDonald was having an award winning season on the Island, he'd be pulling splinters out of his butt the moment DP got back regardless. Same with Clemmy.

[Mike]

Glad to finally see the end of the line matching, defensive forward line strategy. Amazing how we stop doing this and beat 3 of the top teams in the conference.

Only shame is that Sutter / Lou didn't realize this over the summer before giving Pandolfo $2M a year. Great guy, appreciate all he has done, but he is a 4th liner at best. If we had someone with speed / offensive ability playing with Madden and Rolston we would have 3 really strong offensive lines and a nice energy 4th line.

[JCdevs]

What a crazy season this has been.

Who could of imagined before the season started that Marty would get a serious injury and that Clemmer would end up being the #1 goalie and he would play so well that someone would suggest sitting Marty for him when Marty returns from his injury.

[Salvatore from Garfield]

GD- Doc Emmrich had a podcast on NHL.com about that shortly after Marty got injured. EVERY STANLEY CUP WINNER dating back to 1995, and excluding 2000 and 2003, the winning team's goaltender only played about 30-40 games or so. This may end up being a blessing in disguise.

[Robbie]

EVERYONE VOTES RIGHT NOW ON NHL.COM AND GET PARISE AND/OR ELIAS INTO THE ALLSTAR GAME

[Kelly]

Brent is at the Flyers-Canes game. No Sutter jersey on, though. Guess he couldn't handle the heat from everyone bashin him.

TG... have you talked with Zach about getting #100 yet?

[Tom Gulitti]

That's not accurate. Khabibulin played 55 games in 2003-04 with Tampa Bay; Giguere 56 games in 2006-07 with Anaheim. Osgood played 64 games when Detroit won Cup in 1997-98 (only 43 last season). Hasek played 65 games when Detroit won the Cup in 2001-02. Belfour played 61 in 1998-99 for Dallas. Patrick Roy played 62 games in 2000-01 and 61 in 1995-96 (though only 41 with Colorado).

If the point is the Cup-winning goaltender didn't play 70-plus games other than in the years the Devils won, that's right. But 55 games represents roughly 2/3 of the regular season and there were six other seasons (aside from Brodeur's two) since 95 in which the Cup-winning goaltender played at least that many games.

Actually, since 1995, only Osgood (last season), Cam Ward (28 in 2005-06 with Carolina) and Mike Vernon (32 in 1996-97) played fewer than 50 games and won the Cup.

[Tom Gulitti]

100 what? Parise still needs seven more goals to reach 100 for his career.

And Sutter only wore the jersey in Florida because it was the Hurricanes' fathers trip and all of the fathers there wore their sons' jerseys.

[Kelly]

Yes... 100 goals. He's inching closer to that mark. It would be nice to see him get it soon.

It still would have been funny to see Sutter in his son's jersey again.

[Salvatore from Garfield]

TG- That sounds more like it.