Monday, February 4, 2002
Finland shows some finish
By LANCE HORNBY -- Toronto Sun
The NHL all-star game's best goaltender was a Russian, the MVP a Canadian, but Finland might have got the biggest Olympic boost when the show ended Saturday night.
Teemu Selanne's two goals and a nice game by Sami Kapanen on the heels of winning the fastest-skater contest, buoyed spirits on a team that lost Saku Koivu to cancer treatments and is not expected to win a medal.
"You never know what can happen," Selanne said as Finland began preparations for its opener against the United States on Feb. 15. "You're talking about a 12-day tournament when whoever does the best job will win.
"We'll miss Saku a lot. We don't have a lot of superstar centres and it's a big hole to cover. But it's a chance for others to step up."
Koivu has been invited to join the Finns in Salt Lake City but told Selanne last week he would prefer the rest after his latest round of chemotherapy.
Selanne, who was a Patrick Roy breakaway save from a first-period hat trick in the World's 8-5 win over North America, sees the Olympics as a shot at redemption for a mediocre season with the San Jose Sharks.
"Absolutely," said Selanne, who has 32 points in 53 games, is a team-worst minus-8 and has been linked to trade talk. "(The Olympics) will be a good break and get my mind off the other things."
Russian goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin went into the all-star game tied with Roy for the NHL shutout lead with seven. He blanked the North Americans on 20 shots, only the third such feat in one period by a goalie in the past nine all-star games. Khabibulin is now seen as the Russians' gold medal ticket. His NHL general manager, Rick Dudley of the Tampa Bay Lightning, said much of his success comes from mastering off-ice pressures, namely facing his family without a paycheque during a protracted contract dispute between 1999 and the start of this season.
"That's a different kind of pressure, a life pressure," Khabibulin said. "In the Olympics, you have the game pressure. I'm ready."
AVS, WINGS CLASH:
No rest for the Detroit Red Wings and Colorado Avalanche. They renew one of the league's biggest rivalries in Denver tonight (net, 8 p.m.), two days after eight players from the teams, including both goalies, completed a busy all-star weekend. The Red Wings will then send a league-high 10 players to the Salt Lake City Olympics in the middle of the month while the Avalanche sends seven.
"You don't try and conserve energy because there's none left," said Detroit's Sergei Fedorov, a Russian Olympian.
WILM AGAINST VISOR:
The Calgary Flames centre Clarke Wilm, who escaped serious injury from a frightening mishap nine days ago when Vancouver Canucks' Daniel Sedin jabbed him in the eye with his stick, was back on the ice yesterday and will play on Wednesday in San Jose. Wilm, who had a blood vessel in his eyelid ruptured, missed two games but says he won't wear face protection.
BRIEFLY:
The New York Rangers sent down 18-year-old rookie goaltender Dan Blackburn to Hartford of the American Hockey League for a conditioning stint ... The Vancouver Canucks recalled 21-year-old defenseman Bryan Allen from Manitoba of the AHL because Murray Baron is expected to miss close to four weeks with a broken finger.
with files from AP and Sun Media
2002 Games Men's Hockey Coverage
