GOTHENBURG, Sweden -- Even professional hockey players get excited about playing
their first game of the season.
Cheap Adidas Shoes Wholesale .For Team Sweden
goalie Henrik Lundqvist, when he laces up his skates against Team Finland in a
World Cup of Hockey pretournament game Saturday at Scandinavium (noon ET,
ESPN3), its an opportunity to play at his hometown rink. More importantly, he
considers it a chance to begin his season strong.Yeah, Im excited, Lundqvist
said. Its a very special place for me to play here. Growing up, 5 years old,
this is the first place I watched a real hockey game. [Vastra Frolunda HC] was
my favorite team growing up and I played here for a lot of years, so to come
back here and have the camp here and get the opportunity to play for Team Sweden
is very special to me and I look forward to it.The 34-year-old goalie has not
played in a game since April 23, when he allowed six goals on 23 shots and was
pulled after two periods in the New York Rangers 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh
Penguins in the series-clinching Game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup
playoffs. It was a frustrating finish to what he thought was a good overall
season for the Rangers. He took time during the summer to reflect and refocus
his efforts to prepare to represent his country at the World Cup in hopes it
will be a springboard to the regular season with the Rangers.Lundqvist has been
competing extremely hard during practices. Hes even trying to stop the third and
fourth chances to try to simulate the game action. Most of the drills hes been
doing have been in small groups, so now its about getting his timing back.I
needed [those reps], he said. Ive been skating for over a month, but its been
with five guys, 10 guys, 12 guys. I talked to the goalie coach [Stefan Ladhe]
and its important for me to get a lot of pucks and a lot of pucks in
speed.Before training camp, he was practicing with local college, AHL and NHL
players in Gothenburg. He described it as beneficial in different ways. Most
would think when a college or minor-league player gets on the ice with a
world-class goalie like Lundqvist, those young players might try to do too much
and compete over the top to get the best of a veteran goalie. Maybe even buzz
the tower a few times. But that wasnt the case. Working with younger players
gave him a different look.Theyre out there flying and personally I need some
time to work on my game. They might score a few early on, but hopefully after a
while its hard for them to score, Lundqvist said with a smile. But its a good
challenge. Guys that come up now, theyre hungry, theyre fast and have great
techniques. Sometimes they do different things compared to the veteran guys with
the puck and its like you have to be ready for anything, especially when you do
one-on-one stuff.Finland defeated Sweden 3-2 in overtime in the first preseason
game Thursday at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland. Lundqvist made the trip
with the team but did not dress for the game. Training camp began Monday and hes
been getting plenty of practice.Ive worked really hard the past month. Ive been
skating extremely hard and I hope its going to pay off, Lundqvist said. I feel
like Ive done everything I can and now its about focusing on the details. A lot
of it comes down to making good decisions.Its not easy to get right back into
things. You need to be patient. Its a process to get your game back on track.
You work hard in practice but you need to play to get reminders of what you need
to work on.He did practice after the teams morning skate Thursday, but it was
important for him to make that trip to show how unified Team Sweden has become.
If it had been a preseason NHL road game that he wasnt playing, he might have
stayed in New York. But playing for your country is a different situation,
especially for a player such as Lundqvist.Its fun playing in this tournament and
being with the guys, he said. Its a lot of guys youve known for a lot of years,
played with them and against them. Just being around the team is a big part of
why its fun to play for the national team, so you want to travel. You want to
sit by the dinner table and talk about stuff because there are new faces too,
and you dont see them that often, but when you do see them, its good times.When
the puck drops Saturday, it wont be the first time hes heard the fans at
Scandinavium chant his name. Not only did he play for Vastra Frolunda HC earlier
in his career, he also played an exhibition game for the Rangers in this
building on Sept. 30, 2011. That game with the Rangers was one of the most
unique and special games I ever played, he said after Fridays practice at
Scandinavium. It was right where I wanted to be. I played for the Rangers, but
to come back and play here in front of people who helped me so much to reach
that point of my career, and my parents were here and I played against my
brother, there were so many things to take in that it was so hard to focus that
game, but afterwards I was so grateful to have that opportunity.Now, to be here
with [Team Sweden], its an important time to prepare for the World Cup, so you
think about that. This will be just a little, not little but you try to put it
aside a little bit, the fact that Im here in my old place.Its been a productive
few weeks of practice for Lundqvist and now hell get a chance to finally sharpen
his skills in a game for Team Sweden.I look forward to playing here, Lundqvist
said. Theres no denying that.
Cheap Adidas Shoes For Sale . Hamelin, who
triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds
to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was
third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat
Russia and the Netherlands.
Cheap Adidas Shoes Online . And follow TSN.ca
right through Deadline Day for all the updates. From Pierre LeBrun While Anaheim
GM Bob Murray said earlier this season he was not going to trade Jonas Hiller
despite the fact hes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, some sources have
told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun that Murray might be willing to move
another goalie.
http://www.cheapadidas.us/ . Ibaka equaled a
career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the
Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday
night.Johnathan Thurston joined Jon Wells at the Sky Pad to analyse North
Queenslands win in the World Club Challenge. The 32-year-old half-back,
recognised as the best player in the world after winning the Golden Boot for a
third time last year, scored a try and kickedd five goals in the Cowboys 38-4
victory at Headingley.
Cheap Adidas Shoes From China. .And after the
match he gave Sky Sports viewers a fascinating insight into some of the secrets
behind the success.Play the video at the top of the page to watch Thurstons
analysis of the World Club Challenge.
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