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Jason Blake leaves Isles
to be with sick wife





UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- Jason Blake of the Islanders will miss the rest of the season so he can be with his wife, who has thyroid cancer and is to give birth April 1.

"She's doing all right, but it's tough for her to be at home by herself,'' Blake, who lives in Detroit Lakes, Minn., said Sunday. "It was the team's idea to give me the rest of the season to be with her.''

Sara Blake is carrying the couple's first child. The 23-year-old woman has a lump on her throat the size of a golf ball, according to her husband. He said she would be induced in one week, then undergo surgery.

"The doctors are pretty confident, but you never know,'' he said.

Blake was acquired by New York from Los Angeles for a draft pick Jan. 3. The Islanders, with the worst record in the NHL, have 13 games left in their season.
From NHL.COM

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