Through the first seven weeks of this season, injuries have hit no fewer than 17 NHL goalies, including 12 starters. The most serious injury was to Brodeur, followed by Vancouver's Roberto Luongo, who is sidelined week to week after straining his left groin on a routine save at Pittsburgh recently.
It's not hard to figure out why. So many goalies are playing 70 games a season. Add in playoffs and that could be 90 games. Their bodies are just not getting a chance to recover.
And then there is the salary cap. Ten of the NHL's 30 teams are paying their No. 1 goalie $5 million or more this season, which likely increases the pressure on the respective coaches to play them as much as possible, no matter the injury risk. As well, the post-lockout period has brought more parity which means that there are no real bad teams anymore. So it's harder to match a backup goalie against a weaker opponent.
So when Brodeur comes back will he get a lighter workload? Don't count on it. With so many teams battling into the final few games for a playoff spot, it will be the same familiar sweater between the pipes.
