January 2, 2012, New York Rangers-Philadelphia Flyers Winter Classic notebook for HockeyPrimeTime.com

Winter Classic Notebook: Jagr, eye black and Prust

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Written by Denis Gorman

Sunday, January 01, 2012 20:44

Jaromir Jagr had his doubters when he returned to the NHL after three years in Russia. It appears that the consensus of doubters was incorrect. PHILADELPHIA—When news began to leak that the Flyers had signed Jaromir Jagr to a one-year, $3.3 million contract in July, the consensus reaction was mocking disbelief. Could Jagr play at a NHL level after spending the last three years with Omsk Avangard of the Kontinental Hockey League? Turns out, the answer is yes. Jagr enters tomorrow’s Winter Classic game third on the team in points with 31 and his 12 goals are tied with rookie Matt Read for second most. “He’s a talented player,” linemate Claude Giroux said. “His mentality of playing offense it’s different than other players. It’s obviously different good and we try to make sure we are on the same page. “Every time we play a new team, he kind of switches his game and that’s why he performs pretty much every night. He can change his game from one team to the other. It’s pretty impressive,” The Jagr-Giroux-Scott Hartnell line has combined for 46 goals, 64 assists, 110 points and is plus-41. Yet the trio wasn’t set in concrete on July 1 because, according to coach Peter Laviolette, “I don’t think you know that until players actually get together (and) they spend time together and they develop chemistry or they don’t. “They just think a little bit differently and I truly think that Claude and Jaromir think on the same level. They think the game the same way.” Here comes the sun and out comes the eye black During the practice sessions, players from both teams wore NFL-style eye black under their eyes to eliminate the glare of the sun off the ice. “Like I said previously, I can’t believe how much the wind had a factor on (the ice). You could really feel the wind out there and the glare off the ice,” Rangers captain Ryan Callahan said. Callahan was among those that wore eye black but he also has a visor attached to his helmet. He was asked if a tinted visor would make a difference in limiting the effect the sunlight might have on players. “Some guys are, some guys have thought of it buy I don’t know. I just don’t want to put that tinted visor on,” Callahan said with a grin. “I’m not going to do it but I know some guys are talking about it. The glare is a factor out there; you see it, but playing at 3 o’clock might be a little bit different. We might not have to deal with the sun as much.” Prust fights often but can also score That Brandon Prust is a favorite of John Tortorella is not a secret. Tortorella is impressed with the energy Prust brings to the team and his willingness to protect his teammates. Yet the coach wants to find ice time so the league’s leading fighter—he’s tied with Zenon Konopka of Ottawa with 11 fighting majors—can contribute offensively. Prust has two goals, five assists, seven points, and 71 penalty minutes this season. Last year, Prust scored 13 goals and 29 points. “Obviously, you always want to contribute offensively,” Prust said. “I know my role but you always want more responsibility. I had a lot of that last year and want to get back to that.”

Last Updated on Monday, January 02, 2012 02:06

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