Sports: Hockey: New York Islanders suspend star goalie Nabokov

HuffPost [jan25,2k11]

World-class goaltender Evgeni Nabokov has beensuspended indefinitely by the New York Islanders, one of the NHL's worst teams, for failing to report.

Nabokov was released by his Russian pro league team in December and had hoped to return to America for a run at the Stanley Cup. He signed with Detroit on Friday but a bizarre NHL rule forced him to pass through waivers first. The Islanders scooped him up Saturday, but Nabokov refused to report to the team.

The Islanders aren't happy and today they announced the star goalie has been suspended.

Heading into Tuesday night play, the Islanders arethe NHL's third worst team with a measley 37 points and just 15 wins through 47 games.

Nabokov, 35, played all nine NHL seasons with San Jose before bolting for Russia's KHL at the end of last season. His all-time NHL record is 293-178-29 with a 2.39 GAA and .912 save percentage. He has never won the Stanley Cup but came close last year, falling in the Western Conference Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks.

And a look under the mask [on Russian TV, with some game footage].

-- Huffstuff and YouTube on refWrite [yUT2ube] posted by Sportikos