The last couple games taking us into the break didnt hold the best results. An OT and SO loss still tallies up a couple points for the guins, but it never feels good to come that far and not pull out the W.
That being said, there is absolutely no time to dwell as players are being thrust into Olympic competition in less than 48 hours.
The planes have landed and the boys are in town.
For the next two weeks NHL foes will be united while team mates will be pit against each other fighting for honor, glory and gold.
Familiarize yourself with the following. These are some of the masks to be donned by the elite goaltenders of the olympic games.
Ryan Miller -USA
Tomas Vokoun: Czech Republic
Evgeni Nabokov -Russia
Marc Andre Fleury -Team Canada
The NHL Olympic blog post is “Talking goalies”
2.14.2010 / 12:50 PM ET
It was a busy NHL night for Olympic netminders and the results were a mixed bag, at best.
-New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur, the favorite to start for Canada in the Olympics, was shelled in his final game before the Olympic break, giving up four goals to the Carolina Hurricanes on 22 shots before being pulled early in the third period.
“You know what? You’re always as good as the last game you played,” Brodeur said. “People can talk all they want. That’s part of it.
“I’m definitely looking forward to the challenge of defending our country and going out there and playing well. That will be a decision Team Canada is going to make when we get there. I don’t think getting pulled, especially in a game like that with some pretty tough goals to stop, (will be a factor).”
Brodeur was not the only goalie pulled Saturday night, either.
Montreal’s Jaroslav Halak was yanked after giving up five goals in 17 shots to the Philadelphia Flyers. Halak has been red-hot since the New Year and will still be the No. 1 for the Slovaks.
Two of the three Team USA goalies enjoyed good nights Saturday night. Ryan Miller won his final start before the break, a 3-1 decision against powerful San Jose to wash away the bitter taste of some bad starts recently.
It definitely helped a little bit,” Miller said. “For a while there it didn’t seem like much was going my way after pretty much nothing went wrong the first 40 games for me. It’s funny how that works.”
Jon Quick of the Los Angeles Kings pitched a shutout in his last start before the break. The likely No. 3 for the Americans has been red-hot. With Saturday’s 3-0 shutout against Colorado, Quick tied a Kings club record with his NHL-leading 35th victory of the season and posted his second shutout this season and sixth of his career.
The news is not as rosy for Team USA’s other goalie, Tim Thomas, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. Thomas was the backup again Saturday night when Boston beat Tampa Bay as Tuukka Rask earned his sixth-straight start and won his fourth-straight game. Thomas has not played since Feb. 2 and has not won a NHL game since Jan. 14.
“Yeah, but I don’t know how much difference not playing the last week will really matter,” Thomas told the Boston Herald. “I mean, I think even if I’d played every game the last week, Miller was probably going to be the No. 1 based on the year that he’s had.”
–Shawn P. Roarke
You can find more entires and updates here.
Drop the puck, it’s time to go!!
