Sammy Makes The Sports Dish’s All-NHL First Round Team

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

The Sports Dish Exclusive: All-NHL First Round Team
The Sports Dish April 28, 2010

Right Wing- Mikael Samuelsson, Vancouver Canucks (7 G, 4 AST, 11PTS)

When your team is facing a Goalie as good as Jonathon Quick, it’s tough to score when you do not have an offense as good as Vancouver’s and a player as good as Mikael Samuelsson. Samuelsson was complety dominating Quick and the Kings defense during the series and scored 7 goals. He also helped score four more goals by providing his teammates with good passes, as well. Look for him to make a big presence in the series against the Blackhawks.

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Mikael Samuelsson Best Secondary Player In Round 1

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

Top 10 Secondary Players in Round 1
Dave Poleck The Hockey Writers April 28, 2010

1. Mikael Samuelsson (7 goals, 4 assists)

Samuelsson led the Canucks in goals and points and used his deadly wrist shot to expose Jonathan Quick’s weak glove all series long. In Samuelsson’s last three Finals’ runs with Detroit, he had 11 points in 18 games, 13 in 22 and 10 in 23 last year; his highest goal total over that stretch was five.

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Canuck Offense Gets Edge Over Chicago Heading Into Series

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Early look and prediction at Hawks-Canucks

Jesse Rogers ESPN Chicago April 28, 2010

Offense: Vancouver had the most potent attack in the Western Conference, but the Blackhawks weren’t far behind. Both teams have secondary scoring, but it didn’t surface as much for the Hawks in Round 1 as it will need to in Round 2. Players like Kris Versteeg and even Troy Brouwer might find the open ice against Vancouver a relief compared to Nashville’s stifling play, especially in games 1-4 of the opening round. There might not be a better top line in the conference than the Sedin twins along with Alex Burrows. And don’t forget about Pavol Demitra and Mikael Samuelsson. Samuelsson leads the NHL in goals in the postseason with seven. Edge: Canucks.

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Hot commodity Shirokov sticking with chosen path

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Ken Wiebe Winnipeg Sun April 28, 2010

Sergei Shirokov has no plans to abandon his dream.

There are sure to be lucrative offers for the skilled forward to return to Russia and play in the Kontinental Hockey League, but Shirokov is still planning on being in North America next fall.

“Next year I’ll go back to training camp in Vancouver and then we’ll see what we’re doing,” said Shirokov, a 24-year-old from Moscow. “If they send me back down, I’ll go to Winnipeg to play and work hard. I want to play in the NHL.”

There were plenty of things for Shirokov to experience and adjust to as he played his first season in North America.

“It’s a very good season, lots of new things for me,” said Shirokov, a sixth-round pick (163rd overall) of the Canucks in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. “Lots of emotions. New country, new language. I like (Canada), it’s very nice.”

Shirokov tied for the team lead in goals (22) and was second in points (45) to Marco Rosa (55) while appearing in 76 games with the Moose.

“Not bad, it was OK for the first year,” said Shirokov, when asked to assess his own play. “I want to score more goals. I need more shots.”

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Puck Daddy of Yahoo! Sports Chats With Anton Volchenkov

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Puck Daddy chats with Ottawa’s Anton Volchenkov‏ about free agency, his Norris winner and why Senators lost to Penguins

Dmitri Chesnokov Puck Daddy, Yahoo! Sports April 27, 2010

Anton Volchenkov of the Ottawa Senators is a defenseman, and the Norris Trophy is the award given to the best player at his position. If Volchenkov had to chose the winner among 2010 finalists Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings, Mike Green of the Washington Capitals and Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks, who gets his vote?

“Doughty is a really good player. I think this year he played really well. He’s a young guy, but he is such a talented defenseman. He’s had a great year,” Volchenkov told Puck Daddy in an exclusive interview this week.

“Green? He’s like a fourth forward when he’s out there for Washington. I don’t see him playing that seriously defensively, but offensively he is of a lot of benefit.”

That’s expected from Volchenkov, whose reputation is that of a “defensive” defenseman. He averaged 2.69 blocked shots per game this season, finishing in the NHL’s top 10 in that category once again, while scoring only 14 points in 64 games this season. But his defensive abilities have made him one of the most interesting names on the unrestricted free agent market, after having just a $2.5 million cap hit for the Senators last season.

We spoke with Volchenkov about his impending free agency, the chances he’ll return to Ottawa, why the Senators lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round, the Dany Heatley(notes) trade to the San Jose Sharks in hindsight, his offensive game and his Stanley Cup pick … along with what he’s driving and listening to these days.

Q. Now that the season is over for the Ottawa Senators, what is your assessment of it?

VOLCHENKOV: Of course we didn’t do well in the playoffs. That’s the main point. But at the same time we did make the playoffs to begin with, which means it was an OK season. This season was really tough because of the Olympics. It was especially hard because of the game against Canada. [Russia] really did not play well in that game. We simply burned out. But otherwise it was a good season.

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Pekka Rinne Believes Confidence Is Still High In Nashville

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Nashville Predators insist confidence remains high against Chicago Blackhawks: Players say confidence still OK despite stunning Game 5 loss
Bryan Muller The Tennessean April 26, 2010

When the Predators returned home from Chicago on Saturday night, they held an impromptu meeting in the airport hangar.

Coach Barry Trotz told his players to keep their heads up, don’t look back, and reminded them of some teams that came back from the brink of elimination to win playoff series.

“It was good to get everyone on the same page,” goaltender Pekka Rinne said. “I think everybody was feeling bad about themselves, but you can’t feel sorry for yourself. We’re still in a good position. We need two more wins. It’s pretty simple.”

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Chatting with Ilya Kovalchuk about his future with Devils, NHL

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Dmitry Chesnokov Puck Daddy, Yahoo! Sports April 24, 2010

As soon as the series against the Philadelphia Flyers was over, the talk of where the New Jersey Forward Ilya Kovalchuk(notes) may end up. For Kovalchuk, the thought of signing a new contract is not the most important thing in the world right now. Ilya welcomed his third child, a son, in March. And ever since being traded from the Atlanta Thrashers, he hasn’t been able to spend a lot of time with his family.

That is why the morning after losing the quarterfinal series, he was packing his bags to catch an afternoon flight to Florida. Oddly enough, he was watching the KHL finals online when SovSport’s Pavel Lysenkov called him.

“Wow, Ak Bars just scored,” Ilya said right after he answered his phone. “I am watching the KHL finals, rooting for Ak Bars.”

Here’s Pavel’s chat with Kovalchuk:

Q. What can you say about New Jersey?

KOVALCHUK: We didn’t get what we really wanted. And we wanted the Stanley Cup.
I am very upset right now.

Are you going to the World Championships?

We’ll see. I will talk to [the coaches] about it and we will decide what we’ll do. But right now I am flying to Florida where my family lives right now. At least I will see my children. They have been living away from me since the beginning of February when I was traded to New Jersey. We only spent a couple of days together since then.

Going to the World Championships this time is a huge risk because you don’t have a contract. You may get injured.

No one is safe from injuries. If you keep thinking about them, you will most certainly get injured. So, I am chasing these kinds of thoughts away. It will be decided soon. But I have to talk to [the coaches].

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Sammy’s Lucky Break Helps The Canucks Advance

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Canucks’ late goal finishes off Kings: Latest third-period rally sends Vancouver to conference semis
Associated Press April 26, 2010

Of all the breaks that went the Vancouver Canucks’ way in the final three games of their playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings, none was bigger than a fortuitous crack in Mikael Samuelsson’s stick.

When Samuelsson’s lumber snapped on a shot that sent the puck trickling meekly toward the net, Daniel Sedin was in perfect position to pounce. His late goal sent the Canucks into the second round on a wave of confidence in their talented twins’ top line, which is making its own good luck.

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Mikael Samuelsson’s Hard Work Paying Off

Monday, April 26th, 2010

The harder Samuelsson works the luckier he gets
Ben Kuzma The Province April 26, 2010

The media mob was surrounding Henrik and Daniel Sedin and allowed Mikael Samuelsson to catch his breath and contemplate another stunning playoff comeback Sunday. And while he didn’t score to send the Vancouver Canucks to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, he proved that there is no such thing as luck. There is preparation meeting opportunity.

When Samuelsson’s stick broke as he teed up a slapper in the slot with the score tied 2-2 late in the third period, the puck found Daniel Sedin and his sharp-angle wrister beat Jonathan Quick for the game-winner en route to a 4-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings.

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Perttu Lindgren and The Stars Advance as Texas Sweeps The Ice Hogs

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Texas Stars Win 4-2, Sweep Series Against Rockford IceHogs
Texas Stars April 23, 2010

The Texas Stars (4-0) defeated the Rockford IceHogs (0-4) 4-2 on Friday night in front of 2,403 fans at the Rockford MetroCentre. The Stars completed the sweep of the Hogs, winning all four games in the best-of-seven series. Stars goalie Brent Krahn (4-0) stopped 38 of 40 Rockford shots in the win. Texas defenseman Andrew Hutchinson scored two power-play goals, helping the Stars advance to the second round for the first time in team history. Forwards Warren Peters and Mathieu Beaudoin also scored as Texas finished the year 10-2-0-0 against Rockford. Rockford’s Kyle Beach scored twice, as the IceHogs dropped their 10th straight playoff decision. IceHogs goalie Corey Crawford (0-4) made 20 saves on 23 Stars shots in his fourth straight loss. Texas will play the winner of the Chicago and Milwaukee series. Those two teams will play Game 7 in Chicago on Monday night….

In the second period, Texas tacked on two more goals to give the Stars a 3-0 lead after two periods of play. The Stars completed a rush with their second goal of the night after a great passing play involving Jamie Benn and Perttu Lindgren, which was finished off by Mathieu Beaudoin. Lindgren dropped off the puck to the right wing and Benn feathered a pass to the left wing for Beaudoin, who buried his second goal in as many nights for a 2-0 Stars lead at 8:38. Less than two minutes later, Texas struck again to open up a 3-0 lead at 10:23. Lindgren played the puck to the point and Hutchinson blasted a one-timer from the high slot for his second goal of the night. Travis Morin picked up the second assist on the power-play goal.

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