On January 10th, 1,700km away from the friendly confines of the Bell Center, Josh Gorges was undergoing a procedure that by all rights should have taken place years ago. His damaged ACL gave up on him on Boxing Day, forcing the now ex-Iron Man of the Habs to end his consecutive games played streak at 150. That’s a far cry from Doug Jarvis’ all-time mark of 962 consecutive games played, but it is remarkable when you consider the events of February 10, 2010.
That night, as the first period was nearing and end, the visiting Capitals were pressing for a late power play goal. After a Glen Metropolit turnover, Caps defenseman Mike Green had a golden opportunity, and he wasted no time in unloading a howitzer towards Carey Price. Gorges, in the only way he knows how to play, instinctively goes down to block the shot. Shot blocking, like a dangle, saucer pass, or hip check is a skill that needs to be learned to perfect. Except nobody likes to practice getting hit with speeding frozen rubber. In an instant, Gorges’ instincts saw him blocking the shot…with his head.
The photographic evidence says it all: speed kills. Gorges, obviously was ok, but his helmet wore the scar like a badge of honor.
The cross-hatch design on the side of the puck was visible on the side of the helmet, indicating just how lucky he was to not get the shot any lower than he did. A puck in the neck is not something to look forward to, just ask Trent McCleary.
As Gorges lay motionless on the ice, his good friend Carey Price immediately calls for help, and Pierre McGuire’s urgency is clearly palpable.
Most watching that night, myself included thought that they had seen the last of Gorges for a while. A concussion was all but guaranteed, and who knew how long it would take for the baseline tests to permit Gorges to get back to work?
I remember listing to the local sports radio station the next day when it was announced that Josh Gorges was not only ok, but was the first person on the ice for practice.
I’m not sure if Josh Gorges was watching the game in Buffalo on Tuesday night, but if he wasn’t there in person his spirit has certainly infiltrated the team’s ranks.
The talk of the week has mostly surrounded P.K. Subban, for mostly trivial reasons, but the real story of the week was the incredibly bizarre first period in Buffalo’s HSBC arena. Mike Cammalleri, Jeff Halpern and Max Pacioretty all went down with seemingly significant injuries. As it turns out, Cammalleri’s was the only one to have caused damage enough to merit time on the long term injury list. But let’s spend a moment with young forward Max Pacioretty. The winger took a slapshot to the ribs, off the stick of new Hab James Wisniewski. At first it looked like he’d shake it off on the bench, but within seconds he was down in a heap near the boards, and it was clear as day that he was in a great deal of pain. Soon after, news broke that he had left the arena on a stretcher with IV attached, Habs Nation was visibly shaken. The outcome of the game had become a little bit less important as people wondered if he had some serious internal damage.
The Canadiens went on to lose that game 2-1 in overtime, but not after a battle that had every Habs fan proud of the players left standing for the way they competed.
Then, the waiting started. What is wrong with Max (among the other wounded)? While post-game shows and social media channels kept the fans in touch, word came through that Pacioretty was indeed well enough to take the charter flight home. Relief echoed through the tweets and calls, but surely there was still some damage done, and Pacioretty would be lost to the club with some broken ribs. As luck, if you can call it that, would have it, Pacioretty was diagnosed with some badly bruised ribs. Painful to the nth degree, but it’s possible that a player with a high enough pain threshold can suck it up and play through the discomfort. Still, some time off would be on the horizon, right? Nobody with any common sense would have blamed him if he did opt to rest for a few days.
It was again with a great deal of surprise that, when listening to the various reports and tweets on Thursday, it was made known that Pacioretty had taken to the ice for practice, just two days after what most, if not everyone believed would be the last of him for the foreseeable future.
As the Habs prepare for their game in Ottawa tonight, it’s still not known if Pacioretty will play, or if call-up Ryan White will take his place. That decision will be made closer to game time, but the mere fact that Pacioretty is with the team speaks volumes about his character.
There’s no doubt in the mind of this blogger, that as Pierre Gauthier mulls over whether or not to offer Josh Gorges a new contract, or how much to offer him, that he should remind himself that leadership, dedication and character are priceless intangibles that permeate a team. With these immeasurable traits, he sets standards for others on the team to follow. He’s a guy who has been around long enough to understand the challenges of a long NHL season, but still young enough that he can continue to have impacts on young players such as Pacioretty. While we can’t say for certain that Pacioretty would not have been back on the ice so soon if not for Gorges (after all, Pacioretty did play through a painful collarbone injury last season), we do know that he is upholding the standard that Josh Gorges set last season when he shook off the Mike Green knockout shot.