Marc Andre Fleury may have Vesa'd his last Toskala in the NHL last night. We thank MAF for his service to this sport.

Marc-Andre Fleury tries going yard and unfortunately goes down swinging on a Leon Draisaitl changeup 😳 #mnwild #letsgooilers

— SOTA Media (@sotamedia.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T02:19:39.138Z

Researchers from the University of Waterloo are hoping to create a spit test for concussions so teams and players can't work around the subjective tests that currently exist. From my best understanding, when a brain is concussed it triggers certain trauma responses (chemicals that get produced by cells) in the brain. Some of those chemicals can pass through the blood-brain barrier and into saliva where they can be tested for. If those chemicals are found, it can be concluded with a degree of certainty that the patient had a concussion.

“I’ve been involved with my sons’ hockey and lacrosse teams and I’ve seen first-hand how challenging concussions have been with kids who play these competitive sports,” said Marc Aucoin, a professor at Waterloo’s department of chemical engineering, who was the first to share the research behind HeadFirst’s technology with Cordssen-David and worked with the team to develop the company’s concussion test prototype. 
Spit test for concussions being developed by Waterloo startup
A spit test for concussions is being developed by a team of researchers in Waterloo.
Metroland MediaMetroland Staff
Detecting concussions with a simple spit test | Waterloo News
HeadFirst, a company at Velocity, the University of Waterloo’s startup incubator, has developed a way to test for concussions using a simple saliva test. The process provides a rapid and accurate way to detect mild traumatic brain injuries. The startup’s technology advances the traditional concussion tests that are largely subjective and could give athletes a way to circumvent
Waterloo NewsBy

That research followed by this from DoPS. I don't know what their PR blitz yesterday was meant to accomplish either.

Player Safety Examines Rule 48 -- Illegal Check to Head | NHL.com
The Department of Player Safety discusses intent of Rule 48 -- Illegal Check to the Head
NHL logo

MPP and Laura Stacey got married over the summer. Devin has their story in CBC.

Ovechkin, after scoring a hat trick to get within 30 goals of Gretzky's record, is on the shelf for 4-6 weeks.

Alex Ovechkin fractured fibula in left leg, will be sidelined four to six weeks russianmachineneverbreaks.com/2024/11/21/a...

— RMNB (@rmnb.bsky.social) 2024-11-21T22:41:34.834Z

The Leafs visited Sick Kids yesterday to decorate mini sticks with their buds.

Had a blast visiting and decorating mini sticks with our Buds @sickkids 💙

— Toronto Maple Leafs (bot) (@notmapleleafs.bsky.social) 2024-11-21T21:20:09.107Z

10/10. No notes

— Toronto Maple Leafs (bot) (@notmapleleafs.bsky.social) 2024-11-21T21:20:13.130Z

The Blues scored 11 seconds into their game, but they were three seconds slower than the Alex Steen franchise record.

Nathan Walker needed just 11 seconds to open the scoring for the @StLouisBlues and registered the fastest goal to start a game by any player this season. #NHLStats: https://media.nhl.com/public/live-updates?date=2024-11-21

— NHL Public Relations (Bot) (@notprnhl.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T02:37:20.748Z

BLUES SCORE 11 SECONDS IN 🚨

— NHL (Bot) (@notnhl.bsky.social) 2024-11-22T02:37:28.565Z

32 Thoughts shared that teams were interested in Dennis Hildeby last year. This year who knows.

32 Thoughts: Why the Bruins fired Jim Montgomery and what’s next
After the Bruins failed to show consistent “pushback” it was time to make a change behind the bench. Plus, where the salary cap could go next, thoughts on the trade market, and more in this week’s notes.
Sportsnet.caElliotte Friedman
From The Branches