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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Second-best stopper helps put Blues in hole vs. Kings

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 05/6/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

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Brian Elliott

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Jaromir Jagr (CP)

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Ryan McDonagh

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- The St. Louis Blues are in a hole, and there's not much question who's done most of the digging.

Goaltender Brian Elliott, who led the NHL in goals-against average (1.56) and save percentage (.940), has been the second-best puck stopper in the series by a wide margin, which is why Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings lead 3-0 with a chance to send the Blues packing this afternoon at Staples Center.

Evidently it's getting to be an annoying topic.

Asked how much of a boost it would be to get a big game from Elliott, whose 2.43 and .905 stats in the post-season place him ahead of only one goalie still playing -- Philadelphia's Ilya Bryzgalov -- St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said tersely: "I don't want to go there."

"He's done it on multiple occasions all year and been one of the best in the business, and we need him to be at his best, just like we need all the guys in front of him to be at their best," said captain David Backes.

"He's more than capable and he's got a little fire in his eyes today, so I don't expect anything but his best (Sunday)."

Backes said Elliott doesn't have to win the game all by himself, "but he's got to do his share, just like I gotta do my share, and everyone else down the line has to do theirs."

Jagr likes a hard workout

after an exhausting game

THE secret to Jaromir Jagr's longevity is simple -- hard work.

The 40-year-old Philadelphia Flyers forward works hard off the ice to stay in top shape, something he's been doing for years.

"When I came into the league with Pittsburgh, I liked to work out, but I didn't know how to work out," Jagr told the Philadelphia Daily News. "Paul Coffey told me, 'You're going to do everything I do.'

"You should have seen those crazy bastards working after games and practices. It was sick how they worked. (Ulf) Samuelsson, Kevin Stevens, Rick Tocchet, Coffey. They were all insane."

Jagr regularly works out after games, which he said pays dividends down the road.

"Most people think when you are tired, you take a rest," Jagr told the paper. "Coffey was the one who taught me, when you're tired, that's when you've got to work harder. Since your body is tired, you aren't used to that. You'll raise the level and next time your body won't be tired."

As his minutes fly by,

he just keeps on ticking

NEW YORK Rangers defenceman Ryan McDonagh played the equivalent of almost an entire game during Wednesday night's triple overtime marathon against the Washington Capitals.

McDonagh logged 53:21 in ice time -- the most for any skater in the game.

"Mac has a mental toughness about him that has impressed us right away, since he first came here," Rangers coach John Tortorella told the New York Daily News. "We kept asking him (during the game), 'Are you OK?' And he said he was fine. He wanted more... Mac gets run over and then he took a couple shifts to get his bearing, but it's a really good experience for our young D to get through it and find a way to get a win."

-- Postmedia News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 6, 2012 B4

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