Sticks in the NHL

First Preview IIHF World Championship 2010

Playoffs in Switzerland, Playoff run in the NHL, but somehow, first preview for the IIHF WC in Germany.


Group A: Russia, Belarus, Slovakia, Kazakhstan

Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Latvia, Italy

Group C: Sweden, Czech Republic, Norway, France.

Group D: Finland, USA, Germany, Denmark.



Once again, probably no Switzerland-Finnland matchup. I'd really like to see that matchup in a official tournament. But as long as they never are in the same group (in qualification round, Group A meets D, and B meets C) and the Swiss never get to the semis, it won't happen.


A total of 56 games will be played between May 7 and May 23, 2010.

Hockeymonster Teemu Selänne, 600 Goals

Wisniewski Hit on Seabrook

unnice.


8 games susp



"I am truly sorry that my friend Brent Seabrook was hurt on the play," said Wisniewski in a statement. "I certainly wish him the best. I am, however, very disappointed in the length of the suspension. Eight games is incredibly hard to swallow, especially in comparison to other recent hits that have resulted in lesser punishment."

Nino Niederreiter Skill Comp Goal

nice

Short break from the break

Olympic aftermath with Selänne and Koivu.

Break

This Blog is taking a break.



stay frosty.

Ron Wilson quotes

What Ron Wilson said:

"Sometimes, the best team in the tournament doesn't win a gold medal"

"It's just a shame that both teams couldn't have received a gold medal today."

"Canada and the United States play the game like it should be -- not sitting back and playing on your heels and waiting for something bad to happen and counter-punching, but actually going on the attack. I know Mike (Babcock)'s teams play that way and I try to play that way, not very successfully right now with my team in Toronto."

That crack at the Maple Leafs, Wilson's current NHL home, drew ripples of laughter from the packed press conference. But, Wilson wasn't laughing.

"It's nothing to laugh at," he snapped. "I'm teaching them to play the right way; not the Slovakian, Czech or Russian way where you sit back and wait and wait and wait. We are on the attack."

"I'm teaching them to play the right way; not the Slovakian, Czech or Russian way where you sit back and wait and wait and wait. We are on the attack."

"This was a classic hockey game, just as our game was a week ago with the Canadians and to me it is exactly the way the game should be played. To me, the game was invented in Canada and I think we in the United States have morphed into the same style of play, and it is fun to play that way and I hope Mike agrees."

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=519340



Both teams should have received a gold medal? Yeah, no!
You lost Ron. And Canada had the best team. You only had the second best. Get on with it.

Sisu

just great.

Dropping dead in 12 minutes

Selänne: "When a game is over after 12 minutes, I don’t know what to say. I'm stunned. This has never happened in my career on the national level. I don’t know what happened. It's something you don't want to experience. I have no words. It's just unbelievable."

Kipper: "The first goal did surprise me. From that one on it was a tough day."

"Everybody gets knocked down, how quick are you going to get up? "


"it's not how you start, it's how you finish"

Selänne: "I hope we're smiling tomorrow. There's bronze on the line. It's all about bouncing back and trying to take what's left. A bronze medal from this kind of tournament is huge. We have to remind ourselves it's not over yet."


So once again, LET'S GET THE GODDAMN BRONZE!

USA - FIN, quotes

nhl.com: Does it bother you that when people think of Finnish hockey, they think defensive posture and goaltender?

Kurri (smiling) -- Do they? Yeah. It bothers me because we don't think that way, no. We don't teach this team to play that way. It's a big part of our game, for sure. We don't have as much talent as other countries have, We really need to be a good team, with good team chemistry and play as a team together. Plus the good goaltending, which we have for many, many years.

But we don't tell players not to attack. We tell them, 'Attack. Go for it. Have the puck. Keep the puck.' For example, you play against the Russians, who have so much skill. The best way to stop them is you have the puck. Don't let those guys have the puck.

It's confusing that people would think that way. We don't think of our hockey that way.

The Finns will play a passive 1-2-2 forecheck, hoping the lead forechecker can force the American defenders into turnovers. In the offensive zone, the Finns will cycle and try to punish the American defenders. They will also activate their defense more than most teams the Americans have faced in this tournament.

Both Kimmo Timonen, a member of the all-tournament team in Turin, and Joni Pitkanen are world-class offensive defensemen.

"They are really active in the zone from what we have seen," American defensemen Erik Johnson said. "Timonen likes to go back door, and Pitkanen he likes to get on the offense, too. That will be a little more of a challenge because we have only played Canada that really likes to involve their D."

Quotes on the Hagman goal against Czech

An International Ice Hockey Federation rule designed to protect players' heads cost the Czech Republic an Olympic quarterfinal game against Finland on Wednesday.

In fact, Kubina was cognizant that he was risking a penalty - and a two-man disadvantage - by playing sans helmet, although simply putting the helmet back on his head is also against the rules.

"It's a really stupid rule," Kubina said.

He wasn't alone.

"It was good for us that he lost his helmet, but it's a stupid rule," said Hagman, who scored the game-winner with less than seven minutes remaining. "I know they want to keep it safe. [But] you lose a helmet; you should let the guy play."

"We play in the NHL, so you don't remember [the IIHF rule] and the team is so focused and so into the game that it's almost impossible to remember that," said Finnish forward Teemu Selanne, who plays for the NHL's Anaheim Ducks. "On the safety issue, I think it's a good rule. Hockey-wise, it's a bad rule, especially in the NHL.

"That would be a target. Guys would do that on purpose. In front of the net, in those little battles there, you'd just knock the guy's helmet off," Selanne added. "It could be five-on-four, five-on-three, even five-on-two. So, I would stick with the NHL rule. That's a tough break for [Kubina], and for us NHL players, it's wrong that that happened."

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=51806.html#finns+knock+czechs+will+meet+u+s+semifinals

Yippe Ya Yeah!

YIPPIE!



AND YEAH!

Ovechkins new skates

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Fourth-Place-Medal-investigates-mystery-of-Ovech?urn=oly,220328

"He's a colourful guy and he comes with some new stuff," Selanne said. "Again this year he has something new. I think it's awesome."

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=47729.html?cid=rsstsn


I think it's awful.

Empty net USA-CAN

Vancouver, Swe-Fin

"We'll have to go back and watch some videos to see what went wrong. Obviously, we weren't ready to play tonight," said Finland's Ville Peltonen.

Even with the loss, Finland finished fourth in overall standings, and receives a bye to the quarterfinals.

"We've played five games in eight days so any extra rest is huge," said Selanne.

Pitkänen's game misconduct also means that he will receive an automatic one-game suspension and will miss at least the quarterfinal game.

"It's a big loss, because he's a key part on the power play and on the breakouts, he's such a good skater," said Sami Salo.

http://www.iihf.com/en/channels10/olympics-2010/news/news-singleview-world-championship-2009/article/sweden-lundqvist-still-perfect.html?tx_ttnews[backPid]=3471&cHash=0a768a0400

Bettman vs Fasel

In trying to explain the problems of Sochi, Fasel reflected and said: “The trouble is about two such different cultures. Gary is so American – and the Russians are so Russian.” To which Bettman offered: “And, you, René, are so Switzerland.”


http://www.iihf.com/channels10/olympics-2010/news/news-singleview-world-championship-2009/article/fasel-bettman-meet-the-press.html?tx_ttnews[backPid]=3471&cHash=deb54691d4

Misc.

The vote is over:

1. Canada 20 votes
2. Finland 16 votes
3. Sweden 15 votes
4. Switzerland and Russia 10 votes
5. Germany 7 votes
6. USA 2 votes
7. Czech and Slovakia with 1 votes

thanks for participating. I could live with this.

always a pleasure http://www.iltasanomat.fi/videot/videotuomarit/1953233


now, let`s roll over Belarus!
get some!

Some quotes

Jaromir Jagr
"Canada, Russia and Sweden all have the best teams when you look at the statistics and the last World Championship, they should be on the top. But don't forget that this is a tournament that is all about one game. You can be the favourite, but if you lose once you go home. That's why it's not easy to win it. You don't have to be the best, but you have to be very lucky. Everyone here has a chance.

I know if we played 10 games, we are not going to beat Canada even three times, but once? We can do it."

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=39596.html?cid=rsstsn

Brian Burke
"I cry less every day," Burke was saying Sunday, his voice cracking just for a moment. "It's been tough.
I was asked to do a job here and I'm going to do it. The fact that I've had a tragic event in my life shouldn't change that."

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=41763.html?cid=rsstsn

Sidney Crosby after blocking shot
"I will be there," Crosby said of Vancouver, where Canada was to practise Monday and open against Norway on Tuesday. "I'm on the flight tonight."

Down they go, Josh Gorges, Anssi Salmela

Carcillo fightin Gaborik , Tortorella arguing with Larry Brooks

Postgame reaction. Tortorella vs Brooksie. Again. Funny.

The future of the olympics, Bettman vs Fasel & Ovechkin

Bettman:

"It's difficult for any business, any league, to shut down for two weeks with the attendant loss of attention and everything that flows from it and there are competitive issues,'' he added.

"Our teams send varying amounts of players to the Olympics, and so a team that sends eight or nine players may come back a little more tired and banged up than an NHL team that sends none or one or two.''

Bettman said a decision doesn't have to be made right away, and he expects heated debate with the players.

"I know the players are passionate about representing their countries - we have a long history as a sport in international competition and that's something that's important to the players. But we have to decide on balance, 'is it worth it?'' he asked.

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=27280.html?cid=rsstsn


Fasel:

"He's wrong," Fasel told Canwest on Tuesday. "He's completely wrong. If you want to bring hockey to new people and new sponsors, you have to use the huge stage of the Winter Olympics. For Torino, we had 14 billion TV viewers. When I see the numbers the NHL reaches on TV, you cannot compare.

"It's a great opportunity for the NHL brand. When David Stern decided to bring the NBA to Barcelona [for the 1992 Games] it was huge. Gary was thinking he can do the same thing and he had six, maybe seven very strong teams and a better tournament. Maybe that's what Gary doesn't like, when it's not North America that's winning it's not his product. But he's wrong. For me, he's wrong.
"The European market is very important for the NHL," Fasel said. "They have the best European players, but if we want to bring the kids to the sport and develop them, we have to use this European market.

"We're losing players everywhere in the world. We have to bring the young boys and girls to hockey. How can we make the best promotion for the game? It has to be the Olympics.

"We can do something together, for sure. We have to work together with the NHL. But they have to respect us as a partner. The way they're handling us now, taking all the players away, it almost killed the system."
"

Ovechkin:

Washington capitals sniper Alexander Ovechkin has said he'll play in the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia, no matter what.

"It's what I want and what I'm going to do," Ovechkin said recently.

The league's leading goal scorer last year, Ovechkin called for a meeting of NHL players to talk about participating in 2014, and has not backed down on his comments.

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=17377.html#fasel+bettman+hes+completely+wrong

Finns Olympic

Selänne down. Broken jaw. That's so sad.



Discussion about Finnish team on nhl.com
http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=979&id=57067

article about Lehtinen olympics experience
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=513575&navid=DL|NHL|home
"We're coming in as underdogs. I think all teams have a good chance and if you're able to get you're game going right away in a short tournament -- anything can happen."


stay frosty

"I'm gonna get you back" Burrows vs. Referee Auger

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=305786

http://watch.tsn.ca/nhl/clip254339#clip254339





so this is the referee who's making all the bad calls when i play NHL 10!

Green Men action