St. Louis Blues rule out Jaroslav Halak for entire second round -NHL Playoffs Update
Veteran goalie, Jaroslav Halak, was expected to return to face Los Angeles Kings in the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Western Conference Playoff Semi-Final series but on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, St. Louis Blues announced that he will not be
participating in the second round at all.
The announcement comes at a time when Blues could really use a veteran force in the net as St. Louis is now down 2-0 in the series, which will get even more intense as the next two games are scheduled to be in Los Angeles.
"Jaro is out for the series," St. Louis Blues’ head coach, Ken Hitchcock, said. "He won't play in the series."
It was during Game 2 of the quarterfinal series against the San Jose Sharks that Jaroslav Halak collided with teammate, Barret Jackman, as the opposition was making a 2-on-1 play towards the goalie. Jackman went down on the ice attempting to block the Sharks
player with his stick but also hit Halak with his left shoulder.
"It's a big hole. Not a lot different if they lost (Drew) Doughty," Hitchcock added. "I think with the full two days off, he's good to go. We need him back in the line-up."
Halak was definitely one of the most dominating forces when it came to the 2011-2012 NHL regular season as he played 46 games, winning 26 and registering a .926 save percentage along with a 1.97 goals-against average.
In his two postseason appearances, Halak was with a .935 save percentage and even better 1.73 goals-against average.
Now that St. Louis Blues will be playing without one of their goalies, Brian Elliott will continue playing the position of the team’s main goaltender. He started the remaining three games against San Jose and has been doing so against Los Angeles Kings as
well.
The Blues defence just died against Los Angeles in Game 2 as Elliott also gave up five goals on just 21 shots, putting St. Louis in a dangerous position.
With Jaroslav Halak out of the series, St. Louis Blues defensemen and Brian Elliott need to step up as they must rebound now at the STAPLES Center otherwise a whitewash elimination could be in the process.
Tags: