Back in the 1950s, the Rangers had a mediocre team that featured a mediocre goalie named Lorne(Gump)Worsley. His best season was with the Minnesota North Stars in 1972, where he was second in the league in goals against average with 2.12 and was named to play in the 25th National Hockey League All-Star Game, He was 43 years old. When asked to explain his excellent performance at such an advanced age, Gump said that his reflexes were fading and he couldn’t move fast enough to get out of the way of the puck. Incidentally, he was one of the last goalies to play without a mask.
Without a mask. Unimaginable, isn’t it? I think they’re nuts to play without visors. These play-off games have been great to watch, no real blowouts, all close contests. It’s more enjoyable when you don’t have a dog in the fight.