Feeling aftereffects of hit, Eaves to miss Game 4
PITTSBURGH -- Ottawa forward Patrick Eaves will not play in Game 4 against Pittsburgh on Tuesday night as he's still recovering from the thunderous hit laid on him by Pittsburgh's Colby Armstrong in Game 3 on Sunday evening.
He's got "a little headache," Ottawa coach Bryan Murray said Monday.
Oleg Saprykin will take Eaves' place in the lineup.
The hit, which did not draw a penalty, certainly stirred up renewed debate over the role of hits to the head in the NHL.
Murray said players have to take responsibility for their actions, but to effect real change, the league has to mandate rules to eliminate blows to the head.
"It's like teaching school," said Murray, a former teacher. "If you allow things to happen in your room, they happen in your room. If you cut it out the first day, they disappear. If you mandate that you can't hit people in the head, then you get called for it whether you meant to do it or not."
"I don't think you can paint every hit with the same brush," offered Sidney Crosby. "Sometimes [you move] forward and obviously all that's there is their head and that's all you're going to hit. But there's other times where guys are leaving their feet. I think that's the biggest one, when guys leave their feet. If a guy leaves his feet, obviously he's going for a guy's head or high."
For his part, Armstrong answered questions from a large crowd of reporters Monday to discuss the hit.
"I'm not looking to go out there and hurt anyone, if that's what you guys are thinking," Armstrong said.
A reason for Pens to celebrate
Although Sunday's 4-2 loss was disappointing for the Penguins and their fans, the team's first home playoff dates since 2001 remain a cause for celebration. And a time for reflection.
The story of the team's struggle to find support for a new arena in downtown Pittsburgh brought the team to the brink of extinction. Owner and resident superstar Mario Lemieux had discussions with a handful of potential hosts for the team. Up until the 11th hour, it looked like the team might well end up in Kansas City next fall.
Instead, local authorities came up with an arena deal that keeps the Penguins in town long into the future.
Eddie Johnston, a former NHL goaltender who's been with the Penguins in a variety of capacities, including coach and GM, for the past 23 years, shook his head at the idea of what might have been.
He said the team is in a unique position to be able to welcome some of the greatest of the greats, including Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, and now Sidney Crosby.
"When No. 66 came along, it just changed the whole atmosphere here [as it relates to hockey]," said Johnston, who drafted Lemieux with the first pick in 1984. "If we didn't take him, there's be a parking lot there. There'd be no hockey here."
In some ways, the circle has become complete with the new arena deal and Crosby's arrival. Johnston has a good friend who's the head of the local restaurant association. Without a new arena and the Penguins in town, "he said downtown would have been a ghost town," Johnston said.
Now, the team has tapped into a young, vocal fan base that has helped the Penguins sell out 30 games this season, including 13 straight.
"This is going to happen for a long time," Johnston said. "We've got a lot of talent on this team."
Scott Burnside is the NHL writer for ESPN.com.
