Ottawa Senators’ Pascal Leclaire leaves two minutes into game after suffering injury
The Ottawa Senators have had a rough start to the 2010-11 National Hockey League season thus far, as they have yet to notch their first win. Despite battling hard in all of their games,
the wins just don't seem to be coming.
As bad as things are for the Senators, things may have just gotten worse. Goaltender Pascal Leclaire, who was pencilled in as the starting goaltender in Ottawa’s game against the Carolina
Hurricanes on Thursday, October 15, left the game after playing for only two minutes.
While the true nature of the injury was not disclosed, the Senators are calling it a lower-body injury. Leclaire sustained the injury after colliding with two Hurricanes players during
the opening minutes of the game. He first crashed into with Brian Skinner of the Hurricanes, and Tom Kostopoulos ran into him soon afterwards.
After his collision with Kostopoulos, Leclaire immediately fell to the ice. A trainer was brought out to help remove him from the ice, and backup Brian Elliott came off of the Senators’
bench to relieve Leclaire.
The loss of their starting goalie could prove to be very costly for the Senators. Head coach Cory Clouston has stated that despite the string of losses, Leclaire has been Ottawa’s best
player, as he turned in a strong effort in each of his three starts.
Acquired by the Senators in 2008-09, Leclaire’s NHL career has been marred by unfortunate injuries. He was originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets, who saw him as their goalie
of the future. However, after winning the starting job on two occasions, he was quickly lost to a season-ending injury.
Leclaire’s injuries in 2008-09 opened the door for rookie Steve Mason, who would go on to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. Mason’s outstanding play led the Blue Jackets to
their first-ever playoff berth that season.
In 159 career NHL games, Leclaire has put together a record of 57-69-14, along with a 2.89 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.
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