Image courtesy of CBSSports.com
With the NHL being out of action for over a week now, most of the news around the league relates to NHL players’ production over in Sochi, Russia for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Some nations in Sochi are performing as expected, while others are stumbling a little after the preliminary round, but all 12 nations participating will prepare for the next wave of games that starts on Tuesday.
CENTRAL DIVISION
The storyline of the Olympics so far is the shootout performance of T.J. Oshie in the U.S.A. 3-2 victory over Russia on Saturday. Oshie potted four of his six shootout attempts to help America beat the toughest team in their group. Also representing U.S.A. from the St. Louis Blues are David Backes, who has two goals, and Kevin Shattenkirk, who has two assists after the first three games. For Slovakia, Jaroslav Halak has struggled, as he was pulled against the U.S.A. and suffered a loss to Slovenia posting an .857 so far in the tournament. Patrik Berglund has two goals and an assist for Sweden.
Also on the struggling Slovakian roster are Marian Hossa and Michal Handzus from the Chicago Blackhawks. Hossa has an assist and is minus-2 so far, while Handzus has yet to record a point in Sochi and is minus-1. Representing Canada, Jonathan Toews has an assist in three games, while Patrick Sharp has yet to record a point and was scratched for the nations’ game against Austria. Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson haven’t recorded a point yet for Sweden, but they’ve helped their country to the top seed in the playoff round.
From the Colorado Avalanche, Paul Stastny has been a great surprise for U.S.A. with two goals and winning 56.10 percent of his trips to the dot. Although Matt Duchene has been scratched for a game with Canada and Gabriel Landeskog has only one assist with Sweden, Semyon Varlamov has made his presence felt with Russia. Varlamov won the two games he played for the host nation including his 27-save shutout over Slovakia yesterday to help Russia edge out a 1-0 shootout win.
Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are two key components for U.S.A. at these games from the Minnesota Wild, as Parise has yet to record a point as the team’s captain and Suter leads America with a 23:27 average ice time per game. For Finland, Mikael Granlund has impressed with two goals and an assist to help Finland grab the four seed in the playoff round. Nino Niederreiter has yet to record a point yet for Switzerland, but he does lead the team with 10 shots on goal after the preliminary round.
Jamie Benn may only have a goal for Canada, but he was one of the nation’s better forwards in the first three games, as he helped form a productive line with Patrice Bergeron and John Tavares in their first game. Valeri Nichushkin is another Dallas Star in Sochi with a goal for their home country, as the rookie has one point for Russia so far in these Olympics. Ironically, Kari Lehtonen has more points than both Benn and Nichushkin, and just as many as Sidney Crosby, with two assists while posting a .952 save percentage in these Olympic Games.
Michael Frolik and Ondrej Pavelec have struggled so far with the Czech Republic, as the pair of Winnipeg Jets will prepare to take on Slovakia in the first playoff round. Frolik has yet to record a point and Pavelec is 1-0-0-1 for a nation that opened 1-0-0-2. Blake Wheeler had an impressive play for his lone point with U.S.A. so far, while Olli Jokinen has a goal and two helpers after three games with Finland.
On Canada’s roster, only four players had four points or more in the preliminary round. One of those four players was Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators, who had a pair of goals and a pair of helpers. Another blue liner from Nashville is Roman Josi, who is one of the ice time leaders for Switzerland so far in the tournament with 21:29. If Josi helps Switzerland beat Latvia, Josi and Weber will face each other in the quarterfinals.
PACIFIC DIVISION
The Anaheim Ducks are represented well at these Olympics, as Jonas Hiller is the hottest goaltender in Sochi with a pair of shutouts in his only two games during the preliminary round. Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf are both putting up numbers for Canada, as Perry has an assist and Getzlaf has three points. Finland has benefited from a pair of Ducks, as Teemu Selanne has a goal and an assist so far and Sami Vatanen has four helpers. Cam Fowler has a goal and a plus-4 rating on America’s blue line after three games.
From the San Jose Sharks, Joe Pavelski has made his presence felt on the U.S.A. roster with one goal and three assists. Patrick Marleau has four assists for Canada, while Marc-Edouard Vlasic is plus-2 while averaging 15:13 a game on the same nation’s blue line. San Jose’s goaltender Antti Niemi dressed for two of Finland’s three games, but he never actually saw action, as Tuukka Rask and Lehtonen are ahead of him on the depth chart.
He isn’t always at the top of the list when it comes to the conversation of best defenseman in the NHL, but the Los Angeles Kings’ Drew Doughty has shown why he should be talked about more, as he had four goals and an assist to help Canada greatly in the preliminary round. The U.S.A. is happy to have Jonathan Quick, who has two wins and a .944 save percentage so far in the Olympics, as he helped win the shootout against Russia on Saturday. Anze Kopitar has done well as Slovenia’s lone NHL regular, as the forward has a goal and an assist so far in these games.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson helped Sweden land the top seed for the playoff round, as the Phoenix Coyote had three assists and a plus-3 rating in the preliminary round. Martin Hanzal is a member of the struggling Czech Republic club with one assist in two games while posting a plus-1 rating. Lauri Korpikoski has been a minor surprise for Finland, as the forward has a pair of goals for the European nation. Mike Smith has yet to see the ice for Canada, as he has only dressed for one game so far.
The United States is enjoying the play of Vancouver Canuck Ryan Kesler, who has put his body on the line to block shots, has won 68 percent of his 50 draws, and has two points after the preliminary round. For Canada, Roberto Luongo posted a 23-save shutout in his lone appearance, while Dan Hamhuis is plus-1 in the two games he has taken part in. Henrik Sedin wasn’t able to represent Sweden due to an injury, but his brother Daniel has three assists so far and their teammate Alexander Edler has two points for their native country.
Reto Berra of the Calgary Flames allowed the only goal against for Switzerland in the preliminary round, but considering he still produced a 30-save effort against Sweden and couldn’t receive a single goal in support, it’s not really a performance to be embarrassed about. Flames’ blue liner Ladislav Smid is also at the Olympics, as he is minus-1 with two PIMs in three games for the Czech Republic. One has to wonder how Jiri Hudler would be doing at these games for the Czech Republic.
One forward in place of Hudler for the Czech Republic at these Olympics is Ales Hemsky of the Edmonton Oilers, who has an assist so far in the tournament. From Edmonton’s blue line, Anton Belov has a goal and is plus-1 for Russia, while Martin Marincin is minu-5 with two PIMs for Slovakia. Along with the Oilers at the Olympics, the trade rumors featuring Sam Gagner are still floating around, as it is anticipated the forward will be moved before this year’s trade deadline.
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
There has been much talk about Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz in these Olympics, as both forwards seem to be struggling for Canada. Crosby has a pair of assists with top-line minutes, while Kunitz has yet to record a point and has two PIMs. With Russia, Evgeni Malkin is doing just fine with a goal and two helpers in his first three games. On America’s blue line, Brooks Orpik and Paul Martin are doing fine, as Orpik has a helper and is averaging 14:51 per game and Martin is averaging 17:28 per game. Olli Maatta is tied for the lead in points for Finland, as he has two goals and two helpers after three games.
Ryan McDonagh and Ryan Callahan have played well for U.S.A. in these games, as the New York Rangers’ blue liner has a goal and the forward has an assist. Derek Stepan has only played in one game so far for U.S.A. as he saw just 4:59 of action in yesterday’s win over Slovenia. Rick Nash has yet to record a point for Canada, while Henrik Lundqvist is leading the way for the top-seeded nation of Sweden with a .936 save percentage and 1.67 GAA with a shutout in the process. Mats Zuccarello hasn’t recorded a point and is minus-2 with Norway, who enters the playoff round as the lowest seeded team.
Out of the five players the Philadelphia Flyers sent to the Olympics, it’s Michael Raffl that leads the group in scoring after the preliminary round, as the forward had three points for Austria in three games. Jakub Voracek was the only other Flyer to score a goal, as it marked the lone point he had for the Czech Republic, while both Kimmo Timonen of Finland and Mark Streit of Switzerland each have an assist so far in the Olympics. Andrej Meszaros is the lone member of the Orange and Black yet to record a point, as he has four PIMs for Slovakia. Voracek and Meszaros will face each other in the qualification round, as the Czech Republic takes on Slovakia with the winner taking on U.S.A. in the quarterfinals.
Several Columbus Blue Jackets were upset on Saturday when U.S.A. handed Russia a 3-2 shootout defeat, as four Blue Jackets are on Russia’s squad. Sergei Bobrovsky saw Oshie beat him four times during the eight-round shootout to suffer a loss in his lone start for Russia, as he made 31 saves in the defeat. Artem Anisimov and Fedor Tyutin have yet to record a point in these games, although Tyutin was the defenseman that released the shot that resulted in the infamous non-goal call on Saturday. Nikita Nikitin had an assist and was plus-1 in the preliminary round.
Also upset from Russia’s loss on Saturday was Alexander Ovechkin, who has a goal and an assist so far in these Olympics for the host nation. Nicklas Backstrom has a pair of assists so far for Sweden, while Marcus Johansson has a helper in pair of games for the top-seeded nation in the playoff round. John Carlson had America’s first goal of the Olympics and has also added on an assist in three games while posting a plus-3 rating. Ironically, Martin Erat has a goal in three games with the Czech Republic.
Tuomo Ruutu is having an impressive Olympics so far, as the Carolina Hurricane has a goal and three assists after the three preliminary round games. Alexander Semin has an assist and a plus-2 rating for Russia, while Andrej Sekera has yet to record a point and is minus-1 so far with Slovakia. Justin Faulk has yet to see the ice for U.S.A.
Although the Czech Republic isn’t doing that great at the Olympics, the New Jersey Devils on the roster aren’t doing too badly. Jaromir Jagr has a pair of goals and Marek Zidlicky has three points on the nation’s blue line, while Patrik Elias has a helper for the team that could potentially be the next opponent for U.S.A. Outside of the Czech Republic, Damien Brunner is representing Switzerland, as he has yet to record a point and is minus-1 at the moment.
Tavares has been one of the most talked about Canadian forwards at these Olympics, but he has yet to produce a point after three preliminary games. Michael Grabner and Thomas Vanek have done well for Austria so far, as Grabner finished second in scoring during the preliminary round with five goals and an assist, while Vanek produced one helper.
Atlantic Division
Tuukka Rask may have helped his team grab four out of a possible six points in his starts, but the Boston Bruin didn’t have the two best showings, as he allowed four goals against to Austria and let in a soft goal in overtime to lose to Canada yesterday. Bergeron has two assists for Canada and Zdeno Chara has one assist with a minus-1 rating for Slovakia. David Krejci also has one assist with a minus-1 rating for the Czech Republic.
Martin St. Louis was scratched for a game with Canada, as he hasn’t produced a single point yet at the Olympics and is plus-1 in a pair of games. Two other members of the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Olympics are Radko Gudas, who has four PIMs in one game, and Ondrej Palat, who only has one shot on goal in three games, as both players represent the Czech Republic. Richard Panik also has yet to score a point for Slovakia, as the forward is minus-2 in the tournament.
Fittingly for the Montreal Canadiens, Carey Price is the starting goalie for the Canadians, as he produced two wins with a .943 save percentage in two games. P.K. Subban, on the other hand, is fighting for ice time, as he has only played in one game and saw a total of 11:41 of action. Tomas Plekanec has two assists for the Czech Republic, while Max Pacioretty has an assist and is plus-1 in two games so far for U.S.A. Andrei Markov has a goal and is plus-1 for Russia, while Alexei Emelin has six PIMs for the host nation.
Ironically, two of the best American players so far in the Olympics play for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as Phil Kessel had the most points during the preliminary round with seven and James van Riemsdyk had four assists. Nikolai Kulemin has played in all three games for Russia, but he hasn’t recorded a point and his plus/minus is even.
Sweden features several Detroit Red Wings, as the nation is expected to have the easiest path to the gold medal game. Daniel Alfredsson leads all Wings on Sweden with three points, as the tandem of Gustav Nyquist and Jonathan Ericsson have yet to record a point. Niklas Kronwall has an assist for Sweden, while Jonas Gustavsson has yet to see the ice similar to how Jimmy Howard has yet to see the ice for U.S.A. As seen on Saturday, Pavel Datsyuk has two goals so far in these Olympics.
Also on the Swedish team with several Red Wings and Canucks is Erik Karlsson. The mobile former Norris Trophy has three goals and two assists in the Olympics at the moment. Milan Michalek is minus-2 without a single point for the Czech Republic in three games so far in these Olympics.
The Florida Panthers are hoping Aleksander Barkov will be fine by the time the NHL returns to action, as the forward has been ruled out for the remainder of the Olympics with a lower-body injury. As for another Panther that is representing their nation at the Olympics, Tomas Kopecky has taken part in two games for Slovakia and has yet to record a point.
Ryan Miller was less than 18 seconds away from a shutout yesterday against Slovenia, as he stopped 17 of 18 in the win. A few other Buffalo Sabres involved in the Olympics are head coach Ted Nolan and Zemgus Girgensons, who are both representing Latvia. Girgensons has a goal and is minus-2 for Latvia, who will face Switzerland in the qualification round.
