Canada defeated Team USA in an overtime thriller 3-2 to earn the gold medal in what was a remarkable 2010 Olympics.

Jonathan Toews scored the first goal for Canada, Corey Perry the second, and Sidney Crosby netted the game-winner 7:40 into overtime.

Down 2-0, USA fought back to tie the game, with goals from Ryan Kesler and a clutch one from Zach Parise, with just 24.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

Chris Drury played 9:34, while Ryan Callahan played 9:14. Both were superb on the penalty kill throughout the entire tournament.

Canada outshot Team USA 39-36 and both teams were 0-2 on the power play.

Ryan Miller received the well-deserved tournament MVP honors.

…Amazing game. Miller was sensational, totally kept this team in it every game.Too bad Crosby had to be the one to put the dagger in the hearts of Team USA though.

…I’m not happy, it’ll take a while for this feeling to go away, but Team USA did earn the silver medal and we have to be proud of what our country’s hockey players did. Great tournament. Let’s hope the NHLers get another shot in four years.

With the last stretch of the season set to begin on Tuesday for the Rangers against the Senators, it’s a good time to take a look at their remaining games.

Currently tied for 9th in the East, the Rangers are one point behind the Canadians. They have 20 games left, 12 of them on the road. They will have a six game road trip at the end of March into April.

15 of the Rangers remaining games are against teams currently with a record above .500.

The Habs currently have one game in hand, but the Thrashers, Bruins and Flyers (teams vying for the last few spots) all have played two less games then New York.

The Rangers will face the Flyers three times, the Penguins once, and the Devils twice. The Blueshirts will also face the Islanders and the Maple Leafs two times.

And they will have to play on back-to-back nights three times the rest of the way.

…It’s not going to be easy the rest of the way, so it’s time the Rangers play their best hockey.  There’s no time for excuses, just get it done.

Just some quick hits coming off today’s practice, according to Andrew Gross:

Michael Del Zotto returned after having his 50 stitches removed and ended up staying after practice for conditioning work. It is still unclear whether he will play against Ottawa on Tuesday, but will be re-examined tomorrow. He’ll play with a protective pad underneath is jersey.

Henrik Lundqvist also returned to practice and had some things to say about the Olympics – he expects Canada to beat Team USA:

“It was great, a fun environment,” Lundqvist said of his second Olympics. “It’s a great city for the Games, I think. It started off pretty good. Then again, when it comes down to one game, the things that could go wrong, did go wrong. It was great to be there but disappointing to lose in the quarterfinals.”

And the newest Ranger, Alex Auld, spoke of his role:

“I want to keep an open mind,” said Auld, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season. “I understand who the other guys is in net and how good he is. I understand his role and what he brings. I just want to help, however much that may be. I’ve found out through my career that if I’m worried about when I’m not in net, when I do play, it can be a distraction.”

With quite possibly one of the most hyped games in several decades to be played in Canadian soil, the North American match-up certainly has the hockey world buzzing. While I’m sure the players and coaches would rather keep quiet, the news media has pressed the issue, and a piece on NHL.com has various quotes from the USA and Canadian participants.

Team USA GM Brian Burke had this to say about the significance  of this game:

“Hockey is not a sport in Canada; it’s a cult, it’s a religion. It’s why I love living and working in the NHL in a Canadian city. I love the pressure that’s on the players and the coach and the GM. And I didn’t feel that pressure in Hartford. It wasn’t the same. We had to create that pressure. And so the Canadians view this as their game and they view this game as planting a flag on a peak. So it’s huge. If you guys believe they’re the underdogs you should put on some knee high boots because the manure is piling up in here.”

And Chris Drury had some thoughts on Ryan Miller:

“It’s maturity. In any situation it just seems he can handle a lot of different shots from a lot of different angles, screens. Just his overall game seems a little more mature. Even back (when I played with him in Buffalo) I just remember staying out of his way. (Henrik) Lundqvist is the same way. I’ve played with goalies who it just wouldn’t matter, but with Miller, especially, you’d just see him in the morning, say ‘Good morning’ and then move on.”

…Some really great quotes in there, I’d definitely recommend reading it. Some of them are funny, others are heartfelt. Either way, it’s cool to see what these athletes are thinking about leading up to the biggest game of their lives.

The news for Rangers prospect at Boston College, Chris Kreider, continues to be raving. Despite not starting the season as hot as all the accolades that surrounded him, Kreider has now hit full stride, scoring in nine of his past 11 games – the latest goal coming in an OT thriller against the University of Massachusetts – and has really emerged as a force in BC’s lineup. Two of those goals have been game-winners and he’s on a five game point streak.

The goal came with “Special K” (as he’s becoming nicknamed) utilizing his blazing speed to reach the left side of the crease and tip-in a pass from his teammate.

Kreider now has 13 goals and 5 assists, along with +18 plus/minus in 30 games played. BC has a record of 20-10-2.

UMass head coach had this to say to a BC student paper:

“You can’t let that guy get inside of you,” said UMass head coach Don Cahoon. “As much speed as Kreider has, you need to take his space away and try to skate him right by the net. He got to the inside and got a stick on the puck for the tip-in. He’s a big time player who made a big time play.”

You can read a bit more on the latest Kreider heroics at the Boston Herald.

…I recently had the opportunity to ask my friend, who goes to BC, about Kreider – way before this hot streak. He definitely believes he can develop into an impact player at the NHL level. He skates well, is a great passer, and is an above average puck-handler. Hopefully this is only the tip of the iceberg for the Rangers prospect.

…Check out the video link after the jump on the CBS player. At the 40 second mark is where you can see the goal.

(more…)

Just to recap some of yesterday’s news makers in case you missed out:

Rangers claimed Alex Auld off waivers from the Dallas Stars and will be responsible for half of his salary at $250,000. Read more from yesterday here.

Henrik Lundqvist also made it back to New York yesterday, as pictures surfaced with him out to dinner with Aaron Voros and Sean Avery.

And finally, after Friday night’s scare when Marian Gaborik left the game in the third period, he returned for the Bronze Medal game and played 17:06.

The Rangers will resume practice today and it will be interesting to see if Michael Del Zotto returns.

According to both Ken Campbell of the Hockey News and Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com, the KHL team in St. Petersburg will make an extremely lucrative offer to Ilya Kovalchuk if he hits free agency.

…This is the biggest wild card of the off-season, he can get more money to get back and play in Russia.

KHL president Alexander Medvedev says that the biggest allure will be the different tax systems:

“The difference between 45 percent taxes and 13 percent taxes is substantial,” Medvedev said. “We could top that [NHL] money he would receive by a substantial sum up. He will decide.”

In other words, a $7-million salary in Russia for Kovalchuk is akin to making almost double in the NHL and that’s what Medvedev hopes will be the biggest allure.

The articles also note that Medvedev and Gary Bettman have spoken to try and repair the relationship between the two leagues.

…This could be something really big. Some players have already jumped ship to the KHL and if the money is there, these Russian players could just stay there instead of coming over to the NHL or they would leave after their NHL contracts are up and head to greener pastures.

How this affects someone like Enver Lisin remains to be seen. A Kovalchuk type player raises the level of talent and play in the league and he will probably get a better offer to play there then in the NHL.

Slovakia coughed up a 3-1 in the third period, allowing Finland to score four unanswered goals to earn the Bronze Medal with a 5-3 victory.

Olli Jokinen (3) scored twice – the tying goal and the game-winner, while Sami Salo and Niklas Hagman chipped in with a goal apiece. Valterri Filpulla scored the empty-netter. Along with the goal, Jokinen had five shots in 10:14 of ice-time.

Pavol Demitra scored and had two assists for Slovakia, while Marian Hossa added a goal and two helpers. Marian Gaborik (4) also scored on three shots in 17:06. He also had a penalty.

Finland had three power play goals, while Slovakia had two. Finland outshot Slovakia 33-22.

All-time great Teemu Selanne finished the Olympics with two assists, and ends his Olympic career with a record 37 points.

…Jokinen turned on the jets in the third period; let’s hope is a sign for the rest of the season. Gaborik also looked very good, showing off his stealthiness to escape for a goal.

Update:9:30PM: Michael Russo tweets that Gaborik was the first skater on the ice for Slovakia

…Good and bad. Good that he isn’t hurt or hurt enough that he can’t play. Bad that whatever hampered him yesterday clearly can’t be gone by now and of  course could flare up again.

Update:12:11PM: Darren Dreger says that the injury to Gaborik is not related to the cut he suffered two weeks ago and that he could play tonight.

Update:12:01PM: Larry Brooks tweets that Gaborik has not been ruled out of the Slovakia Finland Bronze Medal game tonight

…Thats good

Original Post: Last night in Slovakia’s loss to Canada, Marian Gaborik didn’t play in the third period and Bob McKenzie of TSN says that reports are saying that it could be a groin injury.

Gaborik was injured two weeks ago when the skate of Henrik Lundqvist sliced his right thigh. He missed two of the Rangers last three games and only played sparingly in the game he suited up for. In the tournament Gaborik had three goals and one assist for Slovakia while leading the team in shots with 28. He also averaged over 17 minutes a game for them.

Slovakia plays for the Bronze medal today and the Rangers resume their schedule of Tuesday.

…This isn’t terrible, but it isn’t good. He has some days off to try and get whatever is bothering him out of the way and back for the Rangers stretch run. Of course if this is serious than the Rangers will be in trouble and need perfection from nearly all other aspects of their game to make a playoff run.

Cross your fingers, say your prayers.

Besides just winning back the starting job for the New York Islanders, the oft-injured Rick Dipietro still has hope that he could vie for the number one starter job in the 2014 Olympics. Since signing a 15-year extension a few years ago, DiPietro has been nothing short of a disaster. During the Olympics in Turin he went 1-3 for the USA, but had a 2.28 goals-against average.

Speaking to Peter Botte of the NY Daily News, DiPietro expressed his strong desire to play for his country in 2014:

“It’s tough. It’s something I was looking forward to from the time I got off the plane from Torino,” DiPietro said of sitting out the Olympics after serving as the U.S. starter in 2006 in Turin. “It’s tough to sit and watch without kind of feeling or wishing you were there to be playing in it. But things didn’t work out and I look forward to hopefully getting a chance to do it (in 2014).”

“As far as my body feels, (the break) was good. My leg feels good and my body feels good and I’m looking forward to being back and getting this thing going,” DiPietro said. “I’m not sure what’s going on with (the next Olympics), but all I can control is to play as well as I can and try to stay healthy.”

…I mean it’s always good to have an optimistic attitude, but in four years DiPietro will be 32-years-old and unless he puts together four straight seasons in which he starts like 70 games and leads the league in save percentage and goals-against, he probably won’t get another shot. Besides, I can see Miller returning for one more Olympics next year, as he’ll be 34-years-old. Jonathan Quick will also be hitting his prime and I’m sure Team USA will want to bring along another younger goalie to learn the ropes.