offs, if its a star player or starting goalie and you put in a [backup | Forum

Canberra believe they have a team good enough to be in the NRLs top four, but not yet the 80-minute game to consistently beat top teams. Shayne Corson Blues Jersey .The fifth-placed Raiders - coming off a bye - have an opportunity to leapfrog defending premiers North Queensland or Canterbury with a win over the Warriors at GIO Stadium on Saturday.Coach Ricky Stuarts team have won their past three matches and six of their last seven, setting them up for their first finals appearance since 2012.But veteran Sia Soliola isnt prepared to look that far ahead, insisting the young side is still building.We always like to believe we can be there ... but one week at a time is far enough for us, he said on Wednesday.I think its pretty clear that we need to bust out some good 80-minute grinding-style footy.Theres a lot of times where weve had really good lapses, whether it be first half or second half, but we havent really linked two halves together - thats where really need to improve on.Halfback Aidan Sezer agreed, saying 60-minute efforts were not enough.Were lacking that extra 20 minutes to put on a clinical performance, he said.Were working towards that, were doing it at training, and its one of our main goals.Soliola said it was hard to predict how long it would take for the Raiders to get there, but was confident they were close.They say Rome wasnt built in a day, so neither will this club, he added.Were moving in the right direction.The Raiders will be without back-up hooker Kurt Baptiste (ankle) for up to six weeks, meaning star Josh Hodgson will have to step up and play 80 minutes at dummy-half.Baptistes absence, though, has allowed coach Ricky Stuart to load his bench with big men - Soliola, lock Luke Bateman and props Paul Vaughan and Joe Tapine - to help counteract a similarly intimidating Warriors pack.Its going to be a good battle in the middle for us, Soliola said.Sezer is wary of the New Zealand sides unpredictability and doesnt want to get caught in a shoot-out.I think if youre going tit-for-tat with them theyll probably beat you to the punch most of the time, he said.Were looking to just grind away again and hopefully come over the top of them. Robert Bortuzzo Blues Jersey . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner. Al Macinnis Blues Jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. http:///...-allen-blues-jersey/ . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. This weeks Big Question: What do you think of the concussion protocol?Wayne Gretzky: In the old days, it was like, Take two aspirin, come to practice tomorrow, skate for two hours and youll sweat it out. Weve come a long ways. Its just trying to recognize they want to protect the players the best way possible. Again, weve learned so much about concussions and yet theres so much more to learn from every side, from the doctors point of view, from the athletes point of view. Were still at the beginnings of this. They have to do whatever they can to protect the athlete.Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs:?I think its pretty important, all these head injuries today, its really important stuff that can affect you long-term. I think its pretty important that they definitely make the right call and not take any chances on that. It could be pretty devastating.Kevin Bieksa, D, Anaheim Ducks: Ive seen our trainer ask defensemen, Did you get hit there? How did you feel? I havent been through it yet. Im not sure how its working. You can always trick a trainer if you want to. Theres still a lot of onus on the players. I know referees will come by and ask you sometimes if they think you got hit or theyll tell the trainer, Have a look at this guy in between periods. Its a good thing. I know what theyre trying to do because most of the time, the way were wired, were not going to leave the game unless we dont know where we are, unless were confused, unless were clearly concussed. A lot of these minor concussions where sometimes maybe we should step back, we would never do on our own, so its good to have somebody else take over.David Backes, C, Boston Bruins:?I think its necessary. Its similar to something we did in St. Louis in my time there, you just get pulled away for a second. You get a chance to catch your breath and get a chance to talk with the doc, he gets to look at you and you can have your say, Yeah, Im feeling all right or Im just not feeling right. Those 10 minutes that youre away from the game could save you 10 games missed, or 10 months missed as in some of these cases, and youre not getting that second-concussion syndrome, which could be career threatening. I just think its a small inconvenience throughout the process of a game that could save you a lot of time. You only get one brain and you want to take care of it.Guys are starting to smarten up and the culture is starting to accept that more that those are intelligent decisions, rather than thinking with your heart and pushing through anything that you have.If its a bruise or a sprain, that hockey mentality still exists, but an orthopedic surgeon can mend the other parts of your body. The neuroscience guys havent figured out how to undo concussion effects time and time again. The brain is a very fragile thing and you want to take care of it, and the rest of our body were going to sacrifice like crazy to win games and thats the beauty of the game. But were just being a lot smarter. Were using our brains to protect our brains.Brent Burns, D, San Jose Sharks: The protocol, I really do think its what has to happen, whether you like it or not. Were all the same, we can all say the same stuff to other guys, If you think youre not right, youve got to get out. Youve got to say it. And then you get yourself dinged and you think youre fine. You convince yourself. I think as humans were really good at adapting and overcoming things. You hurt your ankle? You limp, youre fine, you can still walk. Pull your groin? Your hammy takes over. We adapt and overcome. When you get a concussion and youre not feeling right, youre just, Ah, I probably just didnt have a good enough nap. I didnt eat good last night. Tomorrow Ill be better. It has to be taken out of the players hands. ... There are things we still dont know. Were still learning so much. Its hard to diagnose. As individuals, its hard sometimes to know what youre feeling. I dont feel right, what does that mean? Your ears, your sinuses, your eyes, did you feel s----- today? I got smoked in the mouth and Ive got a bad headache. Yeah, I lost three teeth, I should have a headache. But is it a brain injury? Or is it: mouth, sore, smashed my neck and my head almost fell off. Who knows? You go through the testing.Aaron Ekblad, D, Florida Panthers: I think lifestyle, in the sense of being healthy, is more important. You dont want to end up having too many of those problems -- concussions -- while playing, then end up being a vegetable when youre older, so you kind of have to understand that as a player. Its been a hard realization for me, but after the last couple I realized theres life outside of hockey, there are another 12 hours in a day where youve got to be a normal person, so its important to protect yourself and be protected by other people, and the league is taking that initiative and its a good step.Joe Thornton, C, San Jose Sharks: I know hockey players are tough guys and they want to play through anything and everything, but when there is a questionable hit to the head, I think its good you take five minutes out of your game to go in and makee sure youre OK. Brayden Schenn Blues Jersey. So I think its great idea.Cam Fowler, D, Anaheim Ducks: I think its great. I dont think you can ever have too much safety and that just means that people care and are looking after us. I know with the whole thing with?Connor [McDavid] with actually nothing being wrong and they still had to take him, youre going to deal with stuff like that every once in a while, but in the whole scheme of things, its people looking out for your best interests and thats all that really matters.Jack Capuano, coach,?New York Islanders: For me, and for people I know in my family that have gone through it, I think [the NHL] is doing whats best for the players. This is a fast, physical game and I believe with the National Hockey League and the way that its set up, that if a player gets hit and they feel that he needs to get checked out, its about health first, so Im a big believer in that. Im a big believer in making sure that you take care of the individual.Were going through a situation right now with?Mikhail Grabovski. Its a difficult situation and when you see a player like that, its tough because he was such a competitive kid, and a big part of our team, and hes not able to play now. I like the protocol the way it is and if they feel that a player needs to get checked, then Im all for it.Jarome Iginla, RW, Colorado Avalanche: Weve had them where guys have been spotted and they probably shouldve been taken out, so Ive only seen positive things with it. ... So, you do need other people helping out. Its not always the most convenient but its the right thing to do and to be cautious about it. Guys dont want to miss one game, or two games, but if they screw that up, they miss time and could be cutting years off their career and changing their lives later, so I think its the right thing.Zach Parise, C, Minnesota Wild: You know what? Its hard to argue with because of the way things are not only in our sport but other sports, too. Like football. Just with the lawsuits and stuff. Everyone is trying to take a step back and protect themselves and protect the players. At the end of the day, I think everyone is trying to protect the players and do whats best for them. I think were all trying to do whats best for everybody, and if thats what they think it is, then, yeah.Patrice Bergeron, C, Boston Bruins:?Im fine with it. Theyre trying to protect the players, but protect themselves also at the same time. Yes, sometimes some of the calls might be a little iffy because the guy is fine, but might as well make sure and go and get it checked and be 100 percent sure. I understand sometimes its late in a game and you dont want that to happen, but at the end of the day its our careers and its somewhat trying to protect us and I dont mind it.Ben Bishop, G, Tampa Bay Lightning: I dont mind it. I think its going to be good for the guys but at the same time I think theres got to be some, its got to be on the players and the medical staff on the team to decide. I dont think somebody up in the press box should make that type of call. Id be interested to see what they do in the playoffs, if theyre still going to have that rule, because Im sure therell be a lot of teams getting fined because they wont be sending guys off. Weve had, on this team, some high sticks, kind of innocent plays and theyre trying to go for [the protocol]. So maybe theyre taking it too far. I mean, its for the players safety, so you cant really argue about it. But itd be interesting to see if they change the rule for playoffs.Nazem Kadri, C, Toronto Maple Leafs: I mean, its good for the league, its better to be safe than sorry. But obviously its unfortunate that sometimes -- its happened to me before where I got taken off and I didnt really feel like being taken off. I didnt feel like I needed to go off. But like I said, they only have our best interests [in mind] and I think its good for the league.Mike Sullivan, coach, Pittsburgh Penguins: The league is certainly moving in the right direction and trying to protect our players. Having said that, it can be difficult at times when youre coaching because you can lose certain players for periods of time during the course of the game when youre trying to win games, and sometimes theyre your best players, your most influential players, so that can certainly be a challenge when youre in the heat of the battle, but its a necessary process and a necessary step that the league has taken.Eastern Conference scout: I think its needed to be done. I think its been executed in the right way in the NHL. I havent been to a game where I was like, Oh my gosh, I cant believe they pulled him off the ice. I think that dynamic might change in the playoffs, if its a star player or starting goalie and you put in a [backup goalie] in cold. Thats probably going to upset some people. At the end of the day, the most important thing is health and family. This is just a game.--Joe McDonald, Pierre LeBrun, Craig Custance, Scott Burnside ' ' '