LaBarbera update

Jason got in his pads and on the ice today for the first time since his injury. He made some saves in a controlled situation and here's what he had to say ...

``It was good to get back on the ice and see what it feels like to have equipment on again.
There was some pain there. I took something to kind of ease it. It will be there for a while I think. It's just a matter of how much I can take. Most of the stuff I did was controlled. Tying my skates was probably the most painful thing for me. For all I did out there, I feel pretty good. From what the doctor told me, I can't get worse unless somebody hits me.''

Jason said he'd like to say that he's shooting for a weekend return but that it's tough for him to say.

``It's gradually gotten better as the week's gone on so hopefully it will keep getting better. I feel like I have better range of motion now, so that's good. There's still pain there but it's really about what can tolerate. I don’t want to be in a game and have something come up that I have be cautious about. You really can't have that as a goalie.''

Jason also spoke about players being allowed to get in on goalies and the part it played in Blake's game misconduct.

``I don’t blame him. It’s frustrating. It's kind of a league-wide thing now and it's been like that a couple years where goalies are getting run over all the time. I understand you're supposed to go to the net and create havoc as an offensive team but, at same time, it's tough and we're so vulnerable out there. (Blake) got frustrated by that and the fact he got cross-checked earlier. To me, to kick a guy out like that, he deserves to say whatever he wants to say whether it's right or wrong. I mean, he’s Rob Blake, you know. (When I) complain to the ref and say they're all over me, running into me, their excuse is always that the defenseman pushed them into you.''