Thursday, January 13, 2011

Theo Has a Hip Injury (Not Practicing Today) (Edited again)

"No Backstrom, no Theodore on ice for practice. Khudobin and strength coach Chris P-W tending goal"

"Theodore has hip injury; Khudobin more than likely starts vs Avs, says Richards...

Edit: More on the Theo injury situation from the Wild beat writer:

Jose Theodore didn't practice this morning and is questionable for the game against the Avalanche. Like Niklas Backstrom, Theodore has a hip injury. Coach Todd Richards said Anton Khudobin will more than likely start, and Theodore may back up if he feels OK.

I'd think you'd want him to rest like Backstrom (why use him as a back up?), so I can see a callup from Houston later on tonight or in the morning. But it doesn't sound like a major injury. Richards said he first became aware of the issue with Theodore in Pittsburgh, but he played and shut the Pens out. I thought I noticed Theodore smarting in the third period in Boston and made note of it on Twitter in a TV timeout.

This makes the decision to start Theodore in the second half of a back-to-back against Dallas on Sunday a curious one, especially in light of the Wild knowing he had a hip issue and Richards saying all day the day before that the team needed to be "smart" about its starting goalie decision against Dallas.

Richards said today: "Talking with him and talking with our trainers, he felt he was OK to play. And when players say they're OK to play, who's to say that they can't play?"

That's fine and dandy, but I will remind you Richards said before the Pittsburgh game even started that he guaranteed that no matter how the Pittsburgh game went, Theodore would tell him he could start vs. Dallas and that being the case, the staff would make the decision on the flight home.

But, hey, this is easy to say now. I'm sure Richards knew it would be a tough game for his team. Sorry, 7 p.m. game one night in Pittsburgh, 5 p.m. game the next night at home. Wild weren't going to have legs that night. Theodore's coming off a shutout and fourth straight Wild win. You want to continue the momentum, I'm sure."

4 comments:

  1. I might not be an NHL coach, but... Richards doesn't convince me at all. Of course Theo was gonna say he was OK to play... the guy usually plays once every ten games, so of course he wants to keep on starting and giving it his best. I'm pretty sure in the end it's the head coach's decision anyway, at least in other NHL teams I follow :/

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  2. Exactly. I was thinking the same thing. He's not going to say he shouldn't play unless he has a broken bone or something. Come on, coach! You knew he was having issues? I couldn't believe it when I read that. I've tried to support the coach, but this is really bothersome.

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  3. Great -- the beat writer has a better eye than the trainers and coach on whether someone has an injury issue. The organization's professionalism slays me. /sarcasm

    News flash -- the NHL is working hard on recommendations concerning concussions. Granted, this isn't a concussion, and the player's input is always important. But "when players say they're OK to play, who's to say that they can't play?" -- the coach has the discretion to scratch players for any number of reasons.

    No matter what the injury, if the trainers can't make an assessment on whether continued play is likely to make an issue worse, the hockey operations department has issues of its own. If the trainer's assessment is correct and the coach ignores them, the general manager needs to have some issues with the coach. And if those issues don't get resolved, the owner needs to have issues on behalf of the whole organization.

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  4. Agreed! I have now heard that they called up another goalie from Houston, so I have a feeling José won't even dress tomorrow night.

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