from Steven Marcus of Newsday,
A source confirmed that Lehner, who is 20-11-5 and third in the NHL with a 2.19 goals against average, was placed on the league-mandated protocol for head-related injuries. Lehner said he is “100 percent,’’ but anticipated a few more days of practice. Barry Trotz did not rule Lehner out of Thursday night's game with the Canadiens at NYCB Live’s Nassau Coliseum....
As Lehner saw the incident,Tkachuk was barreling toward him. Brock Nelson chased Tkachuk from behind and Nelson’s stick touched Tkachuk’s back in a slight push.
“I think it's a joke because at the end of the day [Tkachuk] puts his trajectory towards me,’’ Lehner said. “No matter if [Nelson] is there pushing. It’s a battle, but is he taking the trajectory right towards me. He doesn't try to slow down. He doesn't try to move out of the way. Because, as I said, we all know he was going straight for me. There's no denying it and, again, I'm not complaining about it. It's part of the game [but] maybe I need to brace myself next time and start using my blocker or use my stick and see what happens. But again, this is a problem around the league that a lot of goalies get run into like that.’’
Asked if he thinks the NHL should look into the matter, Lehner said, “You look around at all the different hits, all the different stuff, it's so inconsistent. I've seen plays where players are holding goalies’ pads and sitting on them and it's still a goal. I don't think they [the NHL] really know what they're doing.’’
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