Preseason is Risky Business

From Red Fisher at the Montreal Gazette:

Frankly, it boggles the mind that exhibition games start so early after the beginning of training camp.

Get this, though: the preseason actually got underway Monday with four games, the first of which took place at 3 p.m. between the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers. Even more startling, in a first for the NHL the teams met in the second half of a doubleheader at 7: 30 p.m. However, both teams have enough players available to play two games. Apparently, no players performed in both contests.

Two more games started at 7 p.m. - the Buffalo Sabres played host the Carolina Hurricanes and the Ottawa Senators faced the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Hockey people will tell you that their players are the best conditioned athletes of all major sports. No argument there.

Years ago, players didn?t start skating until the start of training camps. Now, they?re working out shortly after a season ends and all the players are skating in early August. However, contact starts immediately in training camp and cranks up, along with fighting, in the first exhibition?
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Source: http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/preseason_is_risky_business/

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