Goaltenders have gotten bigger, better and more athletic in recent years and hockey is trying to keep up.Under new NHL rules intended to boost scoring, goalies will have sleeker, more form-fitting pants beginning this season and will also get more compact chest protectors not long after. Those charged with keeping the puck out of the net just want to make sure theyre not more vulnerable to injuries.As a goalie, the only thing you want is to be protected, Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators said. Theres room to take off and room to kind of taper those shoulder pads and pants and whatnot. But hopefully Im sure theyll make everything protective enough that goalies are not going to get hurt.The evolution of goalie equipment from the thin, brown pads that prevailed through the 1980s to the Michelin Man-style monstrosities of the 1990s to now has been a roller-coaster ride. Over the past decade or so, the NHL and NHL Players Association have taken incremental steps to shave down padding, giving skaters a better chance to find the net when they shoot the puck.Stick technology has evolved, too, so even though the average goalie is now 6-foot-2, the league cant just shrink equipment back to levels from 30 years go and watch the red lights and goal horns go off like crazy. Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock complains that goalies are too good now and theres no space because the goalies are bigger than the nets.But its not an easy fix.Its complex because no two goalies are exactly the same size, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. We want them to be safe, and we want them to be protected, but the equipment doesnt have to be so big that it protects the net against the puck.Scoring has hovered around 5.3 goals a game for a few seasons, down from the peak of over seven in 1992 and over six in 2005-06, when new rules were introduced to spark more offense. Criticism about coaching and defenses clogging up play and contributing to that is warranted.Its also one reason why goalies dont believe smaller equipment necessarily will lead to more goals.If guys are giving up goals leaking through their arms that are kind of ugly goals and that increases scoring, is that a good thing? I suppose, said Cory Schneider of the New Jersey Devils. But if youre still only getting 20 shots a night each way, then I dont think smaller gear is really going to make a difference. I think its a two-fold issue. You want to create goal-scoring by creating a better flow and more shots.NHLPA executive director Don Fehr said goalie equipment is a topic his entire constituency votes on because it affects so much about the sport. The goaltending fraternity is generally in favor of streamlined equipment because it evens the playing field around the league. Former NHL goalie Chris Mason was once questioned by a general manager he played for about why he wore smaller equipment than his counterparts, and hes glad the league is cracking down.You got some skinny guys in there that look absolutely massive, and you have other guys that are wearing it the way youre supposed to wear it, Mason said. It does make a difference because some guys are trying to get every advantage they can get.Most goalies dont want any advantage other than sufficient protection against shots that can come at 100 mph or more. Schneider, who is on the competition committee that considers rule changes, said it is important not to rush the process and create unintended consequences or open the door to injuries.Schneider has his concerns but supports changes to the current equipment.I believe that your goalie should look the way he looks off the ice and that wearing equipment just to take up space is different than wearing equipment to protect, Schneider said. I think thats the goal here is we want to give guys gear that protects them but also fits their bodies and not just eating up space to block pucks.Boston Bruins starter Tuukka Rask is a bit tired that the answer to every goal-scoring question is to resize goalies equipment. But he respects the process the league and players are going through.I think its a great thing what theyre trying to accomplish and as long as they keep goalies involved in discussions I think its good, Rask said. At some point somebody has to say, `Enoughs enough. We have to try to figure something else out than just make the equipment smaller. Im sure theres room for good discussion there.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno Cheap Bayern Munich Jerseys . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Cheap Soccer Jerseys . 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NEW YORK -- Jim Leyland has nearly half a century in baseball. Torii Hunter is a five-time All-Star. Anibal Sanchez is a rising talent. Whatever the perspective, the opinion is the same: Miguel Cabrera is on a whole different level. Cabrera homered against the Yankees again and had three hits while playing on a bandaged leg and Torii Hunter connected and drove in four runs, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 9-3 victory over New York on Saturday. "Its hard to believe what we are seeing," Leyland said. "Im seeing things that are mind-boggling." Sanchez (10-7) tossed seven easy innings against a Yankees lineup that was without Alex Rodriguez. Manager Joe Girardi said he was giving the third baseman a day off after he struck out three times in his season debut in the Bronx. Austin Jackson followed a four-hit, three-double night Friday with a homer and triple against the organization that drafted him. Don Kelly had a two-run single after Phil Hughes (4-11) was lifted in a four-run fifth to help the AL Central leaders win for the 17th time in 21 games since the All-Star break. Hunter and Kelly each had three of Detroits 17 hits and Victor Martinez had an RBI double. Lounging on a clubhouse couch Saturday morning, Cabrera was wearing a big, square Band-Aid over the spot on his left shin where he fouled one of two balls Friday night before homering off Mariano Rivera to send the game into extra innings. Detroit lost that one to end a 12-game win streak, but the Tigers rolled along Saturday behind the hobbled Triple Crown winner. "Sore," Cabrera said after driving in his 109th run. "Its a long season. You go through a lot of stuff with injuries. You got to try to hang in and battle." Cabrera singled in the first and connected in the third on an inside pitch for his 35th of the year. He singled against Hughes in the fifth, slowly working his way around the bases and scoring on Kellys two-run single in a four-run inning. "Its not about talk," Cabrera said. "Its about going out there and play." A-Rod, who bolted the ballpark before talking to the media Friday night, was not surprised that Cabrera was able to homer while in so much pain. "The guy is amazing. I mean that was a joke," Rodriguez said Saturday. "Everyone thought he was dead -- it was like the movies, youve got to shoot him to make sure hes dead. I knew he wasnt coming out of the game and said, Dont fall for that bait of limping around. Hes a dangerous guy." Hunter homered off Joba Chamberlain in the sixth to make it 9-2. Fans booed the little-used reliever about as much as they jeered Hughes, who failed to get past the fifth inning for the ninth time in 22 sttarts this season.dddddddddddd Jackson tripled over the head of centre fielder Brett Gardner to start the game, and he scored on Hunters sacrifice fly. Cabrera homered in the third on a pitch that appeared as if it might hit his knee, and Jackson sent a one-out line drive over the left-field fence in the fifth. "He knows how to make adjustments. Once you think you got him, Nah. He got you figured out already," Hunter said. "Miguels definitely the best hitter on the planet." The slumped-shouldered Hughes was lifted following Hunters single. He allowed seven hits and four runs in 4 1-3 innings, striking out six without a walk. "I have to keep grinding," Hughes said. "There are a few pitches Id like back -- the hanging slider to Jackson. But the fastball to Cabrera, that was a foot inside and well off the plate? You just tip your cap to him." When asked if dropping Hughes -- who is 2-9 with a 5.29 ERA in his last 11 decisions -- from the rotation was a possibility, Girardi said: "I dont know if we have other options. We need him to pitch well." Cabrera then singled and Martinez had an RBI double off Preston Claiborne with Cabrera slowly chugging into third. He scored on Kellys two-run single for a 6-0 lead. "Im glad this guys a part of this team," Sanchez said. "Hes amazing." Chamberlain relieved with two on in the sixth, and gave up Hunters 13th of the year on his third pitch. Lyle Overbay had pulled New York to 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run drive to right. Overbay added an RBI single in the ninth. Sanchez did not allow a baserunner until Gardner led off the fourth by fisting a blooper to right that went only a few yards farther than a shard of his broken bat that landed in between first and second base. "Sanchez controlled the tempo of the game," Lelyand said. In the first start of his career at Yankee Stadium, Sanchez gave up two runs and four hits. He struck out seven and walked one. NOTES: Detroit catcher Alex Avila went 1 for 5 in his return to the Tigers lineup. He sat out Friday, a day after being hit in the mask by a foul ball. ... Major League Baseball overturned an official scorers call in a game July 25, giving Andy Dirks an error on a line drive by the White Soxs Tyler Flowers in the fourth inning. The hit was originally called an RBI double. Now, all four runs that inning against Justin Verlander are unearned. ... Yankees SS Derek Jeter (right calf) played catch on the field before the game. He said he might ride a stationary bike, and he also thinks he could start running in a couple of days. ... Verlander (12-8) faces Yankees LHP Andy Pettitte (7-9) on Sunday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '