Jaroslav Halak's mask honor's Pavol Demitra

s/t to In Goal Magazine. St Louis Blues goalie Jaroslav Halak's mask will honor the memory of his former Slovakian teammate Pavol Demitra who was killed last week when his KHL team Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team flight crashed after take off.

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• Blues playoff chances will hinge on Jaroslav Halak (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• Thousands attend Demitra memorial (canada.com)
• Thousands attend Pavol Demitra memorial (canada.com)
• Slovakia mourns Russia plane crash victim (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• R.I.P. Pavol Demitra (adrianatalkstoyou.wordpress.com)

Another day, another tragedy. Air Disaster in Russia.

Image via WikipediaJust when you think the hockey world couldn't suffer anymore this off season there was a plane crash today in Yaroslavl, Russia that killed 43 of 45 people on board.

Former Wild forward Pavel Demitra was one of the passengers on board. Goon's World would like to extend our sympathy and prayers to the people that perished in this horrific crash.

NHL.COM --- A plane crash near the city of Yaroslavl in Central Russia has claimed the lives of at least 43 people, according to Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry. The majority of victims are believed to be members of the Kontinental Hockey League club, Lokomotiv.

The crash occurred at 12 noon Moscow time and the weather was sunny and clear, according to reports.

Eight crew members are also among the dead, according to reports. According to Russian aviation officials, two passengers survived the crash, but are in critical condition. According to Sovetsky Sport, one of the survivors is Russian forward Alexander Galimov.

Lokomotiv has confirmed that the entire main roster, plus four players from the youth team, was on the plane.

"We have no team anymore," Vladimir N. Malkov, the team spokesman, said in a telephone interview with The New York Times. "All our starting players, and all the service people, they all burned in the crash."

Coach Brad McCrimmon, forward Pavol Demitra, forward Josef Vasicek, defenseman Karel Rachunek, forward Jan Marek and forward Alexander Vasyunov are among the confirmed fatalities.

The agent for Demitra, an ex-NHL star, confirmed he was killed in the crash.

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• Jet carrying KHL hockey team crashes, killing 43, including Canadian coach (thestar.com)
• 43 Dead After Plane Carrying KHL's Lokomotiv Crashes; Ex-NHL Locals On Team Roster (newyork.cbslocal.com)
• Russian jet carrying hockey team crashes, 43 dead (cbssports.com)
• Plane said carrying KHL team crashes, 43 dead (espn.go.com)
• 36 killed in Russian plane crash (independent.co.uk)