12-02-2009, 08:52 AM
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#90 (permalink)
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Her Jay
Location: Ontario for now....
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Quote:
For the second time in less than three months, Jonas Gustavsson has been forced to seek emergency medical attention for his heart.
Anyway you cut it, that's scary stuff, a situation that no pro sports team dares trifle with.
So as soon as Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson heard that the prize rookie goaltender's heart was racing after playing an outstanding first period Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens, he didn't wait to find out if Gustavsson could continue.
"I'm not going to be responsible for someone keeling over during a game," said Wilson after the Leafs' hard-earned 3-0 triumph. "The game's not that important."
Even though the Swedish rookie's heart rate slowed on its own during the first intermission, the Leafs decided to have Gustavsson taken to Montreal General Hospital after stopping eight first-period shots. He was released shortly after the game ended, and will fly home Wednesday and consult a Toronto-area cardiologist.
Back in September, Gustavsson collapsed on the first day of training camp and ultimately underwent a procedure known as an ablation to deal with his elevated heart rate. This latest episode has to be worrisome, particularly since the hockey world has seen two young players die of heart-related issues in the past five years.
Former NHLer Sergei Zholtok died in November 2004 while playing in Latvia after being examined for an irregular heart rate 10 months earlier.
In October 2008, New York Rangers first-round draft pick Alexei Cherepanov collapsed and died of heart failure while playing in a Kontinental Hockey League game.
Gustavsson, playing on back-to-back nights for the second time this season, was outstanding early in the game when, on a Montreal power play, he stared down a furious barrage, stopping six shots. After he was replaced, Joey MacDonald came in and blocked 18 shots without error to give the Leafs their first shared shutout since Glenn Healy and Marcel Cousineau turned the trick in San Jose during the 1997-98 season.
"I came into the room and he wasn't sitting there," said MacDonald, whose locker in the Bell Centre was immediately beside Gustavsson's. "I couldn't find him, so I started doing a little stretching on my own."
Other Leaf players said they didn't know what had happened to Gustavsson until after the game.
"You assume it's his groin or something else," said Jamal Mayers. "Not that."
Leaf veteran Vesa Toskala is expected to be back from injury later this week, possibly as early as Thursday against Columbus.
Gustavsson was credited with the win, but MacDonald was strong in long relief.
"I thought we played great, doing all the right things in the defensive zone," said MacDonald.
Wilson, interestingly, didn't have an answer when asked which of his players would have come in as a goalie had MacDonald been injured and left unable to continue.
"Not me," joked Mayers. "It would be a rookie, for sure."
The Habs feted the Grey Cup champion Montreal Alouettes before the game and the Als received a thunderous standing ovation.
That hometown emotion appeared to carry over into the early part of the game, and when Leaf forward Wayne Primeau was sent off for boarding just before the five-minute mark, the Habs controlled the puck for most of the following two minutes but couldn't beat Gustavsson. Less than three minutes later, Colton Orr scored his first goal as a Leaf, giving the visitors a rare chance to play with an early lead.
This time, they didn't surrender that margin but built on it to come up with their fourth win in the past six games. But the story afterwards was Gustavsson and the uncertainty over his immediate future.
"We're not sure what this event was," admitted Wilson.
Frightening, really. Solid answers should be forthcoming before the Leafs even think about putting The Monster between the pipes again.
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Bold added by me, christ just what we don't need Toskala back in nets, they should really trade him for a bag of pucks and a bundle of sticks. |
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