It’s Time to Re-Examine Icing

    In Wednesday’s pivotal match-up between the surging San Jose Sharks and the over-achieving Minnesota Wild, a simple play may have changed the play-off landscape for the entire league.  The worst thing is, it was entirely preventable.   Minnesota defenseman Kurtis Foster was chasing down a puck behind his net, and San Jose forward Torrey Mitchell was chasing him.  Mitchell had little chance of passing Foster, who was closer and had positioned himself between Mitchell and the puck.  But Mitchell, a young, very fast player, hustled to keep his team from having a tired line matched up against Minnesota’s scoring line in the San Jose defensive zone during a close game.  In the process of trying to push his way past Foster, he ran him into the boards, breaking his femur.   Foster is out for the entire play-offs; at 6’5” and 220 pounds, he is one of the few players both big enough to be a force in the defensive end and skilled enough to ... [link]