Samuelsson, Raymond lift Canucks over Sharks 3-1

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Mikael Samuelsson and Mason Raymond scored in the first 11 minutes for the Vancouver Canucks in a 3-1 preseason win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.

Jeff Tambellini made it 3-0 less than eight minutes into the second period, and rookie Cory Schneider finished with 24 saves for the Canucks (2-4-0).

Dany Heatley scored his third goal of the preseason with 3:41 left in the second period for the Sharks (1-4-0), who left top forwards Joe Thornton and Ryan Clowe in San Jose for the rematch on Wednesday night.

Antti Niemi made 19 saves in his first full game for the Sharks after winning the Stanley Cup in Chicago last season before being let go over salary concerns and signed by San Jose.

Kovalchuk goal gives Devils 3-2 win over Flyers

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

NEWARK, N.J. — Ilya Kovalchuk gave the New Jersey Devils 100 million reasons to smile on Tuesday night when he helped rally the home team to a 3-2 preseason victory against the Philadelphia Flyers at Prudential Center.

Kovalchuk, who inked a 15-year, $100 million dollar contract with the Devils in the off-season, connected off a splendid individual effort with just 2:19 remaining in the third to give New Jersey coach John MacLean his first victory behind the Devils’ bench — albeit in the preseason. The Devils are 1-0-3 in the preseason and Flyers fell to 3-1-1.

“It’s always nice to get a win,” MacLean said. “”The last couple of games I felt we did good things and it was nice to win at home. Hopefully, we can build off of this.”

There’s no question all eyes will be fixed on Kovalchuk this season. On this night, he didn’t disappoint. With the Devils trailing, 2-1, the veteran drew a tripping penalty on Flyers forward Ben Holmstrom at 13:45 that led to the eventual equalizer by Travis Zajac just 55 seconds later.

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Kovy ready to meet increased expectations

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Despite a tumultuous and controversial summer, Ilya Kovalchuk cannot be dissuaded from having vision of silver — namely a Stanley Cup — dancing in his head now that he is a New Jersey Devil for the next 15 years.

“The expectation is different, that’s for sure,” Kovalchuk said upon joining the Devils last season. “I don’t want to just be in the playoffs. That’s not my goal. You want to win and I think everyone in this locker room is on the same page so that’s very important.”

Kovalchuk, the most prized free agent available during the summer, returned to New Jersey, where he had been traded during the 2009-10 season. Not that the process was easy. Once contract terms were agreed to by player and team, the contract did not meet League requirements, so it was back to the drawing board. With that obstacle cleared, Kovalchuk now can concentrate on helping New Jersey become a four-time Stanley Cup champion.

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Talented Zherdev remains man of mystery for Flyers

Monday, September 27th, 2010

BEHIND A TINTED visor, Nikolai Zherdev’s eyes are hidden like a poker player at the final table of a big tournament.

Through 2 weeks in Philadelphia, Zherdev remains every bit of the enigma he was when he skated back to Russia in 2009 after an arbitration dispute with the New York Rangers.

His shaded visor is just one hint of the complex character that he is, both on and off the ice.

“He’s hard to figure out,” one longtime NHL scout said in the press box in Toronto on Friday, shortly before Zherdev went on to score twice to spark the Flyers to a two-goal comeback win. “Every other shift, he looks like a completely different player.”

There is little doubt Zherdev can score. Claude Giroux, his linemate on Friday night, said Zherdev has the best hands he’s ever seen in his 3 years of pro hockey.

“My career is obviously not that long, but he’s probably one of the highest skilled players I’ve ever played with,” Giroux said. “He’s got some sick hands. His hockey sense is unbelievable, he always knows to be in the right position. He knows where to go on the ice.”

Zherdev scored again on Saturday in Minnesota, giving him three goals in three preseason contests. But the Flyers knew he could score when they gave him a 1-year, $2 million contract to come back to the NHL. What remains to be seen is whether Zherdev has the willingness to battle for pucks and play meticulous defense.

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NHL Player Agent Jay Grossman Joins The 6th Sens Crew On Episode 27

Friday, September 24th, 2010

Joining the 6th Sens crew on this week’s episode is Jay Grossman, President of PuckAgency and representative of both Ilya Kovalchuk and Anton Volchenkov.

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Pekka Rinne Opens Preseason in Mid-Season Form

Friday, September 24th, 2010

The first thing that came to mind tonight was the stellar play of Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne. With mostly rookies and younger players in front of him, Rinne looked like he was in mid-season form against most of Carolina’s core. He made two great saves where he had to move from post-to-post, one on Drayson Bowman and another on Brett Carson. With all the talk about backup goalies, we forgot that Rinne will most likely play 75 percent of Nashville’s games this season.

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Kovalchuk welcomes challenge of being Devils’ $100 million villain

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Ilya Kovalchuk has always been something of a target for the Rangers, notably Sean Avery.

But will the Devils winger’s 15-year, $100 million contract and repercussions with the league now make him more of a target in road arenas for boo birds and fans holding signs? The Devils visit Madison Square Garden Thursday night for a preseason game.

“I can’t get into everybody’s head, but I don’t think I did anything criminal,” Kovalchuk told The Star-Ledger. “I think it was more of a battle between the NHL and NHLPA than between me and the NHL.”

The league, of course, rejected Kovalchuk’s initial 17-year, $102 million contract. The NHL also fined the Devils $3 million and stripped them of two draft picks– their third-round selection in 2011 and a first-round at some point in the next four years.

In agreeing to allow the reworked contract, the NHL imposed future restrictions on long-term deals by negotiating with the union on an amendment to the CBA.

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Sergei Shirokov Impressive In Preseason Opener

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

The Canucks needed it. With only a handful of veterans, including Rick Rypien who left after five shifts because of a rib injury, Vancouver seemed disorientated in front of Schneider. The Canucks were out-shot 18-12 in the first two and the one goal that beat Schneider featured Niklas Hagman circling around Evan Oberg and Stefan Schneider like they were parking attendants waving him in.

For Vancouver, Sergei Shirokov was good, picking up and assist, continuing where he left off last year when he led the team in exhibition points.

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Evgeny Dadonov Assists Twice For Panthers in Preseason Opener

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Gudbranson, Mike Santorelli and Scott Timmins scored against Carolina starter Cam Ward on three straight shots in a span of 1 minute, 54 seconds in the first period. That put Florida ahead 3-0 less than 6 minutes into the game.

Nathan Paetsch also scored and Joe Callahan and Evgeny Dadonov had two assists apiece for the Panthers.

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Anton Babchuk scores in first game back

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

Anton Babchuk scored the lone goal for the Hurricanes in a 4-1 pre-season loss to Florida on Tuesday night.

After a breakout 16 goal season in 2008-09, Babchuk spent last year in the KHL, but he’s making a return to the NHL this year and it looks like he’s going to make it count.

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