Team USA had about the best starts you can think of in a tournament. But Canada quickly grew a 3-0 lead before the United States roared back and tied them 4-4 in the third. That is when Dany Heatley buzzed a one timer past Craig Anderson (who replaced Tim Thomas in the third) with just 47 seconds left to play. Things got a little testy at the end of the game with a few roughing calls being given past the buzzer, but it was a relative and Canada beats the US 5-4.
The best player on the ice for either team was Cam Ward, who had to make some pretty spectacular saves to keep Canada in the game. Thomas was switched out in the third period after tweaking a groin muscle and Anderson took over. Both played well, considering. The Rick Nash line was pretty dominate throughout the game, but when they went for a change Team USA would dictate the play.
I think the game was closer than Team Canada wanted, but the US did not disappoint. Team USA was shaping up to be a resilient group that played hard and never gave up. A good sign when the elimination rounds start.
In other World Championship news, Alex Ovechkin scored a goal and Sergei Fedorov had an assist in Russia's 4-1 win over Denmark. It was Alex Semin's first game without a point. And in the Czech's win over Italy, Tomas Fleischmann had an assist.
There was a really good article on Nick Backstrom on the IIHF website. You can check that out here.
And Tarik got the skinny on Cristobal Huet's intentions this offseason. Sounds like there is a good possibility of seeing Huet in a Caps' sweater next season.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Pittsburgh Plays The Team They Didn't Want
A lot going on in the hockey world. First both my favorites for the Stanley Cup finals got bumped in the second round in deciding fashion. San Jose lost to Dallas and Montreal lost to Philadelphia. That means there are just four teams left.
The Penguins will now play a team that seems to have success against very good skilled teams, the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was the team they had no ambition of playing in the opening round of the playoffs and some have speculated that the Pens threw the last game of the season to avoid playing the Broad Street Bullies in favor of the beat up Ottawa Senators. Myself included in those that speculate.
How hockey karma can be cruel. Now the Penguins will have to face their cross state rivals and let me tell you, the Flyers are no Senators or Rangers. I actually am cheering for the lesser of two evils, and hope that the Flyers can put the Pens in their place. I kinda like this Flyer team (when they aren't playing the Caps), they are the Anaheim Ducks of the '08 playoffs. Tough, rugged with a touch of skill. Plus they are riding the hottest goaltender in the NHL in Marty Biron. There is a 50/50 chance the Cup will be raised by a Pennsylvania team this year.
In the West Conference the Dallas Stars look pretty impressive, but so do the Detroit Red Wings. This should be a battle royal and will be an interesting series to watch. Logic says that the Red Wings should be the stronger of the two, but I have been counting out the Stars for the last two rounds with little luck. Plus, I am secretly a big Mike Modano fan.
In World Championship news, the stage is set for two good hockey teams to butt heads Tuesday as the United States takes on Canada in their backyard. Canada remains heavy favorites in the tournament, but Team USA has been on a winning streak themselves. They will play in the early game at 4:30 pm EST. Both come in with 2-0 records and have had easy success with their previous opponents. Tim Thomas most likely will be in net for the United States.
As for Caps in the tournament, Nick Backstom scored two goals in three shots as Team Sweden crushed France 9-0. Cris Huet did not start, but he did come in relief and made only 3 saves on 5 shots. Backstrom did score on Huet late in the third.
Backstrom leads all Caps in the World Championships with 4 points (3 goals, 1 assist and 5th on the scoring list overall). Alex Semin is right there with him with 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) and leads all Capitals with a +4 rating (ranking him tied for fourth overall).
The Penguins will now play a team that seems to have success against very good skilled teams, the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals. It was the team they had no ambition of playing in the opening round of the playoffs and some have speculated that the Pens threw the last game of the season to avoid playing the Broad Street Bullies in favor of the beat up Ottawa Senators. Myself included in those that speculate.
How hockey karma can be cruel. Now the Penguins will have to face their cross state rivals and let me tell you, the Flyers are no Senators or Rangers. I actually am cheering for the lesser of two evils, and hope that the Flyers can put the Pens in their place. I kinda like this Flyer team (when they aren't playing the Caps), they are the Anaheim Ducks of the '08 playoffs. Tough, rugged with a touch of skill. Plus they are riding the hottest goaltender in the NHL in Marty Biron. There is a 50/50 chance the Cup will be raised by a Pennsylvania team this year.
In the West Conference the Dallas Stars look pretty impressive, but so do the Detroit Red Wings. This should be a battle royal and will be an interesting series to watch. Logic says that the Red Wings should be the stronger of the two, but I have been counting out the Stars for the last two rounds with little luck. Plus, I am secretly a big Mike Modano fan.
In World Championship news, the stage is set for two good hockey teams to butt heads Tuesday as the United States takes on Canada in their backyard. Canada remains heavy favorites in the tournament, but Team USA has been on a winning streak themselves. They will play in the early game at 4:30 pm EST. Both come in with 2-0 records and have had easy success with their previous opponents. Tim Thomas most likely will be in net for the United States.
As for Caps in the tournament, Nick Backstom scored two goals in three shots as Team Sweden crushed France 9-0. Cris Huet did not start, but he did come in relief and made only 3 saves on 5 shots. Backstrom did score on Huet late in the third.
Backstrom leads all Caps in the World Championships with 4 points (3 goals, 1 assist and 5th on the scoring list overall). Alex Semin is right there with him with 4 points (2 goals, 2 assists) and leads all Capitals with a +4 rating (ranking him tied for fourth overall).
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Hop Switz! Vs. Hip Hop Huet!
As good as Cristobal Huet may be, when you are under a barrage of 48 shots some are bound to go in. Switzerland defeated France 4-1 on Saturday, Huet had 44 saves in a one sided affair. Huet's return to Quebec brought out a raucous French contingent cheering "Allez les bleus!" (Go the blue ones! translated) amongst other things. While the Swiss side hollered "Hop Switz!" (Go Swiss! translated) to counteract. Martin Gerber was in net for the Swiss stopping 25 of 26 shots.
In other World Championship news (concerning Capital players), Nick Backstrom's Team Sweden eek out a win versus Belarus. Backstrom scored a goal, had an assist, and was a +1. Sami Lepisto did not play for the Finnish in their 5-1 win over Germany.
Also Friday, I forgot to mention that Tomas Fleischmann recorded an assist and was a +3 in the Czech Republic's win over Denmark. Jakub Klepis also played for the Czech and recorded 6 shots. Klepis was seen with a very clean shaven head.
In other World Championship news (concerning Capital players), Nick Backstrom's Team Sweden eek out a win versus Belarus. Backstrom scored a goal, had an assist, and was a +1. Sami Lepisto did not play for the Finnish in their 5-1 win over Germany.
Also Friday, I forgot to mention that Tomas Fleischmann recorded an assist and was a +3 in the Czech Republic's win over Denmark. Jakub Klepis also played for the Czech and recorded 6 shots. Klepis was seen with a very clean shaven head.
Friday, May 02, 2008
USA Too Much For Latvia
Team USA started their World Championship quest for gold with an impressive opening game. The US attack was at it's best, beating their opening opponents Latvia 4-0. In their retro 1960's jerseys, the United States scored in every period and out shot the Latvia squad 49-24.
All four goals were scored on the powerplay. Team USA's passing was crisp and they were able to keep the Latvians in their end for much of the game, besides a stretch in the first period and in the middle of the second when the Latvians found some life.
Tim Thomas gets the shutout and Patrick Kane finished with a goal and two assists. Lee Stempniak was pulled down and granted a penalty shot, but failed to convert in the second period. Dustin Brown, Zach Parise and Patrick O'Sullivan were the other scorers for USA.
Russia pounded Italy 7-1. Capitals Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin and Sergei Fedorov connected to help lead the Russian club for their first win. Semin had two goals, an assist and was a +4. A clean shaven Ovie scored a goal and Fedorov had an assist.
The Russians wore their retro jerseys which had the old Soviet Union logo of CCCP. “It was a little strange to have the CCCP logo there, but we had the Russian one too,” said Ovechkin of the retro look. “We consider it like a gift to the older players.”
All four goals were scored on the powerplay. Team USA's passing was crisp and they were able to keep the Latvians in their end for much of the game, besides a stretch in the first period and in the middle of the second when the Latvians found some life.
Tim Thomas gets the shutout and Patrick Kane finished with a goal and two assists. Lee Stempniak was pulled down and granted a penalty shot, but failed to convert in the second period. Dustin Brown, Zach Parise and Patrick O'Sullivan were the other scorers for USA.
Russia pounded Italy 7-1. Capitals Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin and Sergei Fedorov connected to help lead the Russian club for their first win. Semin had two goals, an assist and was a +4. A clean shaven Ovie scored a goal and Fedorov had an assist.
The Russians wore their retro jerseys which had the old Soviet Union logo of CCCP. “It was a little strange to have the CCCP logo there, but we had the Russian one too,” said Ovechkin of the retro look. “We consider it like a gift to the older players.”
Team USA Starts WC Quest Today
Team USA will start their quest for WC gold today at 7:15 pm EST at the Halifax Metro Centre in Halifax, NS, Canada. Their opponent will be Latvia. The Americans will start off in the B group which includes Latvia, Slovenia and Canada. While team USA has loaded up on young talent, they aren't even the favorites for their group or for gold or silver. Canada and Russia have those honors.
But the youngsters can make some noise. Especially now, which seems this is the year where the torch has been passed to a new generation of hockey players. Team USA's development program has paid dividends with gold and solid competitive edge in the U18 group for the past couple of years. Now many of those players have come to age.
While there still seems to be the standard veterans that pepper the line up, like Robert Esche (who didn't play in the NHL this season, but in the Russian Super League) and Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils), now there are new faces in the USA sweater. Young talent like David Booth (Florida Panthers), Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks), Peter Mueller (Phoenix Coyotes) and James Wisniewski (Chicago Blackhawks) get their chance on a bigger stage. Former Capital Jeff Halpern takes captain honors from current Capital Chris Clark, who is still nursing a bad groin.
It's all about experience, something that will be needed in two years time when the Winter Olympics rears it's ugly head. How these youths perform will be something to take some interest in now and could predict Team USA's chances in 2010. The group Team USA has been placed will be no easy task with Canada in the mix and will most likely be the toughest team to play on their home soil.
Team USA's chemistry seems okay as they won easily against Team Sweden in an exhibition game 5-1. Their camp in Portland, Oregon seemed to be productive and the team gelled well. They would have to, with the two favorites Russia and Canada picked to play in the gold medal game with inflated rosters. One thing is for sure, this new group should prove to be an exciting bunch to watch, and of course they are my dark horse for the gold medal game.
But the youngsters can make some noise. Especially now, which seems this is the year where the torch has been passed to a new generation of hockey players. Team USA's development program has paid dividends with gold and solid competitive edge in the U18 group for the past couple of years. Now many of those players have come to age.
While there still seems to be the standard veterans that pepper the line up, like Robert Esche (who didn't play in the NHL this season, but in the Russian Super League) and Zach Parise (New Jersey Devils), now there are new faces in the USA sweater. Young talent like David Booth (Florida Panthers), Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks), Peter Mueller (Phoenix Coyotes) and James Wisniewski (Chicago Blackhawks) get their chance on a bigger stage. Former Capital Jeff Halpern takes captain honors from current Capital Chris Clark, who is still nursing a bad groin.
It's all about experience, something that will be needed in two years time when the Winter Olympics rears it's ugly head. How these youths perform will be something to take some interest in now and could predict Team USA's chances in 2010. The group Team USA has been placed will be no easy task with Canada in the mix and will most likely be the toughest team to play on their home soil.
Team USA's chemistry seems okay as they won easily against Team Sweden in an exhibition game 5-1. Their camp in Portland, Oregon seemed to be productive and the team gelled well. They would have to, with the two favorites Russia and Canada picked to play in the gold medal game with inflated rosters. One thing is for sure, this new group should prove to be an exciting bunch to watch, and of course they are my dark horse for the gold medal game.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Boudreau And Alzner Get Recognized
Well, if you hadn't heard, Bruce Boudreau was named a finalist for the Jack Adams award. And why shouldn't he? He turned a team around from worst to first and had to deal with key injuries. Gabby's job was to turn young talent into full blown hockey players. What has all of DC pretty excited about him may not be his nomination for Coach of the Year, but what lays in store for next season. If Gabby can keep this team on its winning ways, we may be looking at a very interesting season in front of us.
Karl Alzner seems ready to try out for the big club as he was named both WHL's player of the year and top defensemen. He was even called to Hershey for their playoff run, but the Bears were quickly eliminated 4 games to one. Alzner may find himself in a Caps sweater next season. He talked of how excited and nervous he was about the possibility of playing with Ovechkin:
The young player's resume continues to impress, should make for an interesting summer camp.
One thing is for sure, the Caps expectations are going to be much higher come next year. With the accolades this team is getting, playoffs should be a given next season.
Karl Alzner seems ready to try out for the big club as he was named both WHL's player of the year and top defensemen. He was even called to Hershey for their playoff run, but the Bears were quickly eliminated 4 games to one. Alzner may find himself in a Caps sweater next season. He talked of how excited and nervous he was about the possibility of playing with Ovechkin:
"I've been very fortunate to have perfect timing for a lot of things and this is another one because they're taking in young guys and getting better and better and are people's second-favourite team next to their home team," Alzner said.
"I don't know how it's going to be playing with a guy like Ovechkin. I don't want to mess up any passes or shoot the puck too high when he's in front of the net."
The young player's resume continues to impress, should make for an interesting summer camp.
One thing is for sure, the Caps expectations are going to be much higher come next year. With the accolades this team is getting, playoffs should be a given next season.
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