[Devils-list] Close call for Sykora
JM2714@aol.com
JM2714@aol.com
Sun, 23 Sep 2001 08:40:26 EDT
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Close call for Sykora
Sunday, September 23, 2001By MARK J. CZERWINSKI
Staff WriterPHILADELPHIA - Petr Sykora got lucky Saturday afternoon. And so
did the Devils.Sykora, one of the keys to the Devils' offense, had to be
helped off the ice in the third period at First Union Center, a victim of an
apparent late hit by hulking Philadelphia defenseman Luke Richardson. It
looked bad, but it appears as if the speedy winger escaped with just a left
hip pointer."When the soreness goes away, he'll be fine," said general
manager Lou Lamoriello after a 2-2 tie with the Flyers. "He was examined.
There was no spleen injury, nothing internal."Sykora was moving rather
gingerly as he dressed after the game, but didn't seem overly concerned. He
didn't know what hit him as he had his head down near the net, looking for a
rebound."I didn't see him," Sykora said. "I had no idea he was coming. I'm
only bruised. Nothing's broken. We'll see how I wake up in the
morning."Richardson is a physical player, who has four inches and 25 pounds
on the 6-foot, 190-pound Sykora. Several Devils questioned the legitimacy of
the hit, which means there's a subplot here that can play itself out when
these two fierce rivals meet during the season.On-ice officials said they
didn't get a good look at the play, and said it looked as if they just
collided."I was just trying to get back into position in my zone," Richardson
said. "I saw him, but I don't think he saw me. At the last second, I know I
just dropped my shoulder.""I didn't see it happen, but I kind of went after
Richardson," said defenseman Ken Daneyko, who was on the ice for the play.
"The refs said they just collided, and he was apologizing. I was pretty
surprised when he didn't fight because he's a physical player who'll fight
anybody."The Devils had to be concerned when Sykora was down on the ice. He
was writhing in pain, and flung his helmet across the ice as trainer Bill
Murray was attending to him.This, after all, is a much anticipated season for
the A-line of Sykora, Patrik Elias, and Jason Arnott, who are all in camp and
healthy at the same time for the first time since they became a line two and
a half years ago."That's part of the game," said coach Larry Robinson.
"Getting hit, getting injured. That's the fear of every coach when you play
an exhibition game. It's a double-edged sword. You want to play hard and get
in shape and be at your best, but you always risk that chance of injury."The
Devils have a day off today, and Sykora is not scheduled to play in Monday
morning's game against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.
Rest is the best prescription for this kind of injury, so Sykora will be
taking it easy for a while."I probably will be sore for a while," said
Sykora, who missed most of training camp last summer with tonsilitis. "We've
still got two weeks to go before the first game. I'm sure I'll be back before
then, but we'll see
."ICE CHIPS: Defenseman Brian Rafalski is still nursing a sore leg, but
Lamoriello said the problem is "nothing of significance."Lamoriello also said
that winger Sergei Nemchinov had an MRI on his sore right knee, and should be
back on the ice sometime this week.Elias and Bobby Holik scored the Devils'
goals.
Rookie goaltender Jean-Francois Damphousse, who is vying for the job as
Martin Brodeur's understudy, played much better than he did in his debut
against the Rangers, allowing one goal in a period and a half.
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<BR><P ALIGN=CENTER>Close call for Sykora
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<BR><P ALIGN=LEFT></FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000a0" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SCRIPT" FACE="Comic Sans MS" LANG="0"></B><I>Sunday, September 23, 2001</I>By MARK J. CZERWINSKI
<BR><I>Staff Writer</I>PHILADELPHIA - Petr Sykora got lucky Saturday afternoon. And so did the Devils.Sykora, one of the keys to the Devils' offense, had to be helped off the ice in the third period at First Union Center, a victim of an apparent late hit by hulking Philadelphia defenseman Luke Richardson. It looked bad, but it appears as if the speedy winger escaped with just a left hip pointer."When the soreness goes away, he'll be fine," said general manager Lou Lamoriello after a 2-2 tie with the Flyers. "He was examined. There was no spleen injury, nothing internal."Sykora was moving rather gingerly as he dressed after the game, but didn't seem overly concerned. He didn't know what hit him as he had his head down near the net, looking for a rebound."I didn't see him," Sykora said. "I had no idea he was coming. I'm only bruised. Nothing's broken. We'll see how I wake up in the morning."Richardson is a physical player, who has four inches and 25 pounds on the 6-foot, 190-pound Sykora. Several Devils questioned the legitimacy of the hit, which means there's a subplot here that can play itself out when these two fierce rivals meet during the season.On-ice officials said they didn't get a good look at the play, and said it looked as if they just collided."I was just trying to get back into position in my zone," Richardson said. "I saw him, but I don't think he saw me. At the last second, I know I just dropped my shoulder.""I didn't see it happen, but I kind of went after Richardson," said defenseman Ken Daneyko, who was on the ice for the play. "The refs said they just collided, and he was apologizing. I was pretty surprised when he didn't fight because he's a physical player who'll fight anybody."The Devils had to be concerned when Sykora was down on the ice. He was writhing in pain, and flung his helmet across the ice as trainer Bill Murray was attending to him.This, after all, is a much anticipated season for the A-line of Sykora, Patrik Elias, and Jason Arnott, who are all in camp and healthy at the same time for the first time since they became a line two and a half years ago."That's part of the game," said coach Larry Robinson. "Getting hit, getting injured. That's the fear of every coach when you play an exhibition game. It's a double-edged sword. You want to play hard and get in shape and be at your best, but you always risk that chance of injury."The Devils have a day off today, and Sykora is not scheduled to play in Monday morning's game against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.
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<BR> Rest is the best prescription for this kind of injury, so Sykora will be taking it easy for a while."I probably will be sore for a while," said Sykora, who missed most of training camp last summer with tonsilitis. "We've still got two weeks to go before the first game. I'm sure I'll be back before then, but we'll see
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<BR>."ICE CHIPS: Defenseman Brian Rafalski is still nursing a sore leg, but Lamoriello said the problem is "nothing of significance."Lamoriello also said that winger Sergei Nemchinov had an MRI on his sore right knee, and should be back on the ice sometime this week.Elias and Bobby Holik scored the Devils' goals.
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<BR>Rookie goaltender Jean-Francois Damphousse, who is vying for the job as Martin Brodeur's understudy, played much better than he did in his debut against the Rangers, allowing one goal in a period and a half.
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