Never mind the one-piece sticks with the trampoline effect, goalie pads that look like

basement doors, Herman Munster shoulder pads and anything else that contributed to the

evolution of hockey. Nothing changed the face of the NHL, quite literally, over the past half

century more than the goalie mask.

Fifty years ago today, Jacques Plante insisted on wearing a homemade fiberglass

jobber (see: Jason, Friday the 13th Part III) on a regular basis after he grew tired of having

his face rearranged.

The clincher for the late, great Canadiens stopper was taking one in the mush on an

Andy Bathgate backhander that required seven stitches. It happened Nov. 1, 1959. Plante had

practiced but never played with the mask when he stood toe-to-toe with coach Toe Blake

in Madison Square Garden and refused to go back into a game against the Rangers without one.

Blake resisted because he supposedly worried that Plante wouldn't be able to see the puck,

leading to more goals (unacceptable) and possibly fewer injuries (who cares?). The Habs didn't

have a backup goalie, leaving Blake with little choice. He relented while Plante was getting

stitched up.

The goalie mask was born.

"Definitely the best invention I can think of," said Sabres goalie Ryan Miller,

clearly overlooking TiVo.

Montreal took off on an 18-game unbeaten streak after Plante donned the mask. He added

another 11 seasons, 250 wins and 38 shutouts to his storied career. Other goalies who

initially thought Plante was a sissy for wearing a mask soon came to their senses and followed

his lead.

Talk about great saves. Heaven knows how many eyes and teeth, not to mention lives, were

spared over the years. It's difficult to imagine goalies these days ever playing without one

given how hard and high players shoot. The mask has since become a protective device, fashion

statement and canvas on which goalies pay tribute.

The coolest and most appropriate mask was worn by former Bruins goalie Gerry

Cheevers in the 1970s. He started every season with a plain white one and had stitches

painted on the mask every time he was either struck by a puck or a high stick. He's still

selling replicas today.

"It was embellished a little bit, but it was pretty accurate," Cheevers said by telephone

last week from Florida. "If I thought I got one in the cheek or something, my trainer would

paint on six. I would say, "That's got to be 12, not six.' We had some fun with it.

"My main thing was that I had this white mask, and it drove me nuts. I couldn't even wear

white socks under my pads. When I saw white, it scared me. White was a sign of purity. That

didn't fit me at all."

For every mask, there's a goalie. For every goalie, there's a story.

Miller honored his cancer-stricken cousin on his mask while giving a shout-out to Michigan

State. Former Sabres goalie Martin Biron paid homage to his dogs a few years back.

Former Caps netminder Olaf Kolzig had Godzilla painted on his mask to show off his

nickname. They are three examples among hundreds.

NHL Network has a one-hour special, "50 Years Behind the Mask", scheduled for 7 p.m. today.

You can also check out the oldies but goodies on the Web at hockeymasks.com. Included on the

site are replicas of masks worn by several ex-Sabres netminders.

Roger Crozier had a plain white one that looked as if it was purchased off the rack

at Kmart. Gerry Desjardins, who suffered a serious eye injury while wearing a mask, had

a blue background with crossing swords and a white buffalo along the forehead. Gary "Bones"

Bromley had a similar version, but his best artwork came later with a skull painted on his

mask when he was with the Canucks.

"I used to get all the street-hockey ones you could buy for like $20 or $25," Miller said.

"I would paint them up with model paints when I was really young. I would do all kinds of

crazy stuff like take paper plates and turn them into masks. I was 7 years old, playing hockey

with my brother in the garage — any way to be in the big leagues."

Voting booth

One player who didn't have a problem with Flyers center Mike Richards' open-ice

burial of Panthers forward David Booth: David Booth. He watched the YouTube special

several times after spending a night in a Philly hospital with a concussion.

Richards caught Booth coming through the middle with his head down and delivered a scary

but clean blow with his shoulder that Booth, thankfully, doesn't remember. Richards passed

along a text message wishing the winger a speedy recovery. Booth could be back next week.

"It's unfortunate. Maybe I should have been more careful, I don't know," Booth said. "Those

things happen. It's hockey. It could have been worse. I'm thankful it's not."

Seeking Scuderi

Jason Chimera wasn't quite as civil about a low blow that Kings defenseman Rob

Scuderi delivered, sending the Blue Jackets forward skates over tea kettle in a 6-2 loss.

Chimera landed on his face with his neck bent in an awkward position. He could have blown out his knee, broken his neck or worse. The only thing he wanted to break was Scuderi's face,

especially after the former Penguins hero, known as a clean player, declined an offer to

settle the score.

"It's just dirty stuff," Chimera said. "It shows no level of respect. I don't care if

Scuderi's a good player. He needs to stick up for himself. You fight after you do something

like that to somebody."

New Flame challenged

Flames coach Brent Sutter is trying to get Olli Jokinen to comprehend his

team concept rather than starting the offense with him. Jokinen, acquired to be a setup man

for Jarome Iginla, was kicked to the third line and entered the weekend with just two

goals.

Jokinen spent most of his career in Florida, where he averaged nearly 35 goals over his

final five seasons but never made the playoffs. He had 29 goals last season while playing for

Phoenix and Calgary. Sutter is known for preaching defense and puck movement.

"It's not Olli's fault that he's been [allowed] to do certain things because he's come from

certain programs," Sutter said. "[In Calgary], it's not just about circling one guy and

saying, "OK, we're going to revolve the team around this guy.' We're going to revolve the team

around everyone who puts on their skates that night."

Vacancy at the top

The NHLPA's search for a new executive director took yet another turn Friday when interim

chief Ian Penny told staffers he was fired. Whether or not he was officially sent

packing wasn't entirely clear because ... this is the NHLPA.

The most dysfunctional union in sports sent out a news release saying Penny thought he had

been fired, not that he was. It sounded like the NHLPA was trying to protect itself from a

possible lawsuit or Penny was taking steps to collect on the five-year contract worth $3.5

million as general counsel.

The NHLPA also sent out word that it's not suspending operations after Nick Kypreos

suggested otherwise on Toronto radio. Actually, that was the right idea. The union would be

better off shutting down and starting from scratch.

size="3">Quotable

Wings veteran Kirk Maltby on the swine flu that has raced through the NHL: "You

can't stop it; you can only hope to contain it." xleg

Around the boards

Canucks goalie-captain-savior Roberto Luongo, nursing a fractured rib, isn't

rushing back to the lineup. He made that mistake last season and aggravated a groin injury,

putting him on the shelf for an extra three weeks. All told, the Canucks were 9-12-3 in his

absence. "I am stubborn," he said, "but it's about healing and making sure you don't have

issues the rest of the year."

Leafs newcomer Phil Kessel is expected to make his season debut sometime in the next

week, possibly Tuesday against the Lightning. The former Bruins star is recovering from

offseason shoulder surgery. He couldn't get into the lineup fast enough for the lowly Leafs.

Sidney Crosby's hat trick Wednesday gave him nine goals in 12 games this

season, the fastest start to a career that started fast. He needed 22 games to score nine

goals last season. The Kid is using a new composite stick, but his commitment to getting pucks

to the net was the biggest difference in the first three weeks.

Richards, the Flyers' captain, is boycotting the Philly media because reporters asked

ex-Flyer party boy Joffrey Lupul if there was too much boozing last season. Richards,

Jeff Carter, the since-departed Lupul and Scott Hartnell apparently were part of

a group that lived downtown, frequented bars and befriended a local porn star.

Oilers GM Kevin Lowe downplayed leading scorer Dustin Penner's

supposed weight problems over the previous two seasons. "You'd think he had showed up to camp

like an offensive lineman," Lowe said, "or like Keith Tkachuk a couple of years ago

after the lockout."

There were fears in Tampa that Steven Stamkos would suffer after veteran

Martin St. Louis was taken off his line to help slow-starting superstar Vincent

Lecavalier, but it has been just the opposite. Stamkos, who emerged in the second half of

last season as a rookie, scored six goals in his first four games after the switch.

How about this for a brutal schedule: San Jose played six games on the East Coast,

returned home for two games, flew back to Carolina for a game today and plays in Columbus and

Detroit before getting back to the Shark Tank. It's part of a stretch in which the Sharks play

12 of 17 games on the road, including nine in the Eastern time zone.