Some of you may think that Jason Vorhees of Friday the Thirteenth fame, was the orginator of the hockey mask. Well, puck breath, that ain’t quite right. You see, it was actually a French Canadian by the name of Jacques Plante, who first donned a goaltenders face mask on November 1, 1959. And this Sunday marks the 50th anniversary since Plante debuted his facial ware – and quite the coincidence, it was exactly one day after Halloween.

Goalies didn’t wear masks back in that time, but the man they referred to as Jake the Snake , was about to change NHL history. Just three minutes into a game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, Plante’s face was sliced open with an Andy Bathgate wristshot, delaying the game for 21 minutes as the Habs netminder lay on the ice in a pool of his own blood. After a trip to the locker room and a bunch of gnarly stitches, he returned to the ice, astonishing both fans and the players. And even more astonishing, the goaltender finished the game with a 3-1 victory over the Rangers.

It’s simply amazing that goalies of that era who faced beasts like Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull didn’t wear face and head protection. Plante and other names like Terry Sawchuck, Johnny Bower,  Glenn Hall, Eddie Johnston, and Gump Worsley may just have been the toughest and most fearless sons of bitches in all of sport.

Back in the 60’s, goalies started to slowly adopt the idea of a mask as a part of their equipment, even though they were crude fiberglass plates with eye holes and straps. Today’s masks are made of carbon fiber space-age material designed by engineers, with the sole purpose of stopping a cruise missile. And with guys Alex Ovetchkin on the ice, that just may be a really good idea.

Read some truly great stuff about the late Jacques Plante and this historic anniversary in sport at the NHL’s official website.

CLICK HERE>NHL.com/Jacques Plante

- ZMAN

This Rooskie is just friggin’ amazing…

Planet Zman celebrates the NHL playoffs with perhaps the most insane hockey fight I have ever seen.

I will tell you unequivocally that Hockey is the ultimate REAL Manly Man’s sport. It’s fast, furious, angry, gritty, brutal, graceful and poetic all in the same instance. But come April and the playoffs begin, ramp up the intensity 100 times over, as in my humble opinion, you’ll see a show that no Superbowl or World Series can possibly match.

To say that the Stanley Cup playoffs are intense, is like saying that DaVinci was just some guy who invented crap for a living. It is a proverbial marathon, where the eventual winners end up playing over a hundred games during the course of the season. I saw a t-shirt the other day that said the strongest muscle on a hockey player is his heart – and god damn if that ain’t the truth. You can judge a player’s physical and mental play, but his heart is the ultimate intangible. But the other intangible that makes playoff hockey so great is the one element that no other sport can boast: The HOT Goaltender. A hot goalie can lead a team to amazing feats and we’ve seen it for decades… Dryden, Roy, Broduer, Richter, Belfour… and now another Mighty Duck is closing down the pond.

So, here’s my picks for the Semi Finals. I’ve seen and played a lot of hockey in my day and to me, nothing compares to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Let me know what you think by tossing your own octopus into the comments rink below.

PREDICTION…

BRUINS over HURRICANES in 7

On the Bruins home page of their website, it says in big letters, “WE WANT IT.” But at this time of year, they all want it, and that’s what makes the playoffs so amazing. Now Carolina just beat the Devils who didn’t suck. But New Jersey sure as hell choked like virgin hooker, letting up two goals in the final 90 seconds to go bye-bye in round one. The Bruins are a hell of a team this season, led by the unorthodox goaltending of Tim Thomas. But Cam Ward will be huge and this series is not a pushover for the Bears. The Canes find ways to win games and their mix of veterans and youth makes them dangerous – Staal, Jokinen, Cullen, Cole, and the aged Rob (is that your nose or are you just happy to see me?) Brind’Amour. The Bruins have a world-class defensman in the 12 foot, 8 inch, Zdeno Chara. They also had a special year with great performances by Kessel, Savard, and the also aged Mark Recchi.

Bottom Line: Ultimately, Boston is a better team and led the conference for a reason.

RESULT: HURRICANES WIN IN 7 – ZMAN STYMIED

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PENGUINS over CAPITALS in 6

It’s the match-up the NHL brass wanted – Sid the Kid Crosby vs. the amazing Alex Ovechkin. But we also have Malkin vs. Semin on the under card – or are they the main attraction? I can’t say this any nicer, but the Caps looked freakin’ awful in game seven against New York and a much lesser 7^th seed Rangers team took them to the brink – 4 minutes from a game seven overtime. The question for everyone is, “Who the hell is Varlamov?” He’s the 21 year-old Washington backstop who replaced Jose Theodore after game one and will start against the Pens. But I do see this as a weakness as his NHL playoff experience is six games where he is 4 and 2. In my opinion, the Caps are weak in their own Zone and the Pens are a much more rounded group who know how to get to the finals.

Bottom Line: Marc-Andre Fleury in goal will be the difference and the Penguins will move on.

RESULT: PENGUINS WIN IN 7 – ZMAN SCORES!

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PREDICTION…

REDWINGS over DUCKS in 6

The Wings are the reigning Stanley Cup Champions and are immense from top to bottom, in and out. In fact, they’re basically the same team as last year. Look at the names… Datysuk, Hossa, Zetterberg, Franzen… the longtime grinders, Draper, McCarty, and Maltby, the leadership of Chelios, and the unsurpassed defense of Nick Lidsrtom. It’s hard to believe that their Achilles Heel may be goaltender Chris Osgood, but the guy is a proven winner and he has an amazing group in front of him. On the flip side… the Ducks have a goalie no one ever heard of except for his parents and his old peewee teammates. His name is Jonas Hiller and he SHUT DOWN the best team in the NHL regular season in round one with a 1.64 GAA and a .957 save percentage. The dude played out of is ducking mind and will steal a couple of games in the series – but in NO WAY is he a match for the Wings. Anaheim has talent – Pronger, the Niedermayer boys, Selanne and Marchant, but they were the 8th seed in the West for a reason.

Bottom Line: Team Octopus is WAY too good.

RESULT: RED WINGS WIN IN 7 – ZMAN SCORES!

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PREDICTION…

CANUCKS over HAWKS in 6

This is an interesting series as both teams had almost identical regular season records. Patrick Kane and the Hawks have given the Chicago fans hope for the first time in years and it’s great to see such a proud and storied franchise succeed once again. And netminder Nikolai Khabibulin has tasted champagne from Lord Stanley’s Cup in the past, and played well against Calgary. Now Vancouver has the funkiest, most bizarre, retro mixed with present day uniforms in the league. And I think they win because opposing players stare at that half C, half whale head and say, “WTF?” But when you think Canucks, you think Luongo. Mr. Roberto won four straight in round one, posting a 1.15 GAA and a .962 Save percentage. Yeah, “holy merde!” is right. But they also have the Sedin boys, Salo, Demitra and the experience of Mats Sundin.

Bottom Line: Vancouver is a slightly more rounded team with phenomenal goaltending and will take the Injun Tribe down.

RESULT: HAWKS WIN IN 6 – ZMAN STYMIED

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That’s it, puckheads…what say ye?

- ZMAN