AHL- Apolyton Hockey League III-- Olympic edition

[Flubber]

It just seemed time for a new thread and the last post of the old one seemd an appropriate place end it

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?t=188220&page=24

[Flubber]

Potentially losing Getzlaf for the Olympics?

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Ducks centre Ryan Getzlaf sprained his left ankle during the second period of Anaheim's game against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
The Anaheim playmaker is scheduled to suit up for Canada at his first Olympics next week, but coach Randy Carlyle said Getzlaf would leave the Honda Center on crutches with his foot in a protective boot.

"Hopefully, he won't be out too long," said defenceman Scott Niedermayer, the captain of the Ducks and Team Canada. "I don't have to say what he means to this team and what he does for us, so hopefully it's not bad."

Getzlaf scored his 15th goal earlier in the game before spraining his ankle and hobbling to the bench, apparently getting hurt behind the play. He didn't return to action.

X-rays on Getzlaf's ankle revealed no broken bones, and he's expected to undergo an MRI on Tuesday.

Getzlaf has 57 points in 55 games for the Ducks, earning his Olympic selection alongside Canadian teammates Scott Niedermayer and Corey Perry, who had a goal and two assists in Anaheim's 4-2 win over the Kings, their 10th straight victory at home.

"I haven't really thought about (the Olympics), to be honest," Niedermayer said. "I know he would love to play, but we don't know how badly hurt he is right now. Hopefully he's in our lineup in two nights (against Edmonton)."

I think this could be a huge loss. I like team Canada much better with Getzlaf in the lineup. But if he cannot go, there are lots of good players to choose from. Personally I would probably select Stamkos -- So now its wait for the MRI and see what the verdict is

[Flubber]

Staal heating up, Iginla cooling off heading into Games
CTVOlympics.caBy Jamie Bell, CTVOlympics.ca Posted Monday, February 8, 2010 6:25 PM ET
When Steve Yzerman and Hockey Canada named their roster for the 2010 Olympic Games back in December, they believed they had assembled a group of players that would be firing on all cylinders when action got underway in February.


They've been about half right.

While players such as Sidney Crosby, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau have continued on a torrid scoring pace, others have seen their offensive output take a significant hit since they were informed that they would be representing Canada at the Olympics.

Over the past three NHL seasons, Jarome Iginla's 109 goals trail only Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley for the most scored over that time span. Since being named to the Canadian Olympic team on Dec. 30, Iginla has found the back of the net only four times and went through an 11 game goal drought. Compare that to Crosby who has 16 goals in 19 games since the announcement.

Similarly, there were few players in the NHL as hot as Anaheim Ducks' forward Corey Perry through the first two months of the season. His 19-game point streak is the longest by any player this season. While his scoring has not completely dried up, he has only four goals and eight assists in 19 games since being told he would wear the Maple Leaf in Vancouver.

Injuries have also played a role in some Canadian Olympians' offensive woes. One of the top offensive defencemen in the game, the San Jose Sharks' Dan Boyle only recently returned from an 'upper-body' injury that caused him to miss six games and limited him to 12 points since the New Year.

While not known for their offensive firepower, both Patrice Bergeron and Brenden Morrow have only seven and six points respectively since Dec. 30, however Bergeron suffered a broken right thumb, which cost him six games, while Morrow lost four games to an upper-body injury.

On the positive side of the ledger, several players have flourished since being named to the team, perhaps no one more than Carolina Hurricanes' forward Eric Staal.

The native of Thunder Bay, Ont. suffered through a statistically terrible opening month of the season, scoring three goals and adding only two assists. Many believed that he had potentially played his way off the Olympic team. Missing 10 games in November with an 'upper-body' injury certainly did not help his cause either.

Staal returned from his injury with a vengeance, and over the past month he has been among the NHL's top scorers with 12 goals and nine assists in his past 17 games. He was also recently recognized for his leadership abilities by the Hurricanes when he replaced Rod Brind'Amour as team captain in January.

While several pundits grumbled about Mike Green's exclusion when the team was named, it appears as though the worries that Canada may lack offensive punch from the backend are unfounded. Chicago Blackhawks' blueliner Duncan Keith continues to produce in his breakout season with five goals and 11 assists since the Olympic announcement. Los Angeles Kings' super-sophomore Drew Doughty does not show any signs of slowing down either with 16 points in 19 games as well.

Perhaps no player has been more impressive than the one who will play on Olympic ice in his own home rink.

Roberto Luongo has been stupendous between the pipes for the Vancouver Canucks for more than a month, posting an 11-3-1 record with a 2.41 goals against average and a .921 save percentage. His play is one of the biggest reasons why the Vancouver Canucks have vaulted to the top of the Northwest Division standings heading into action Monday.

While the common line of thinking has been that Martin Brodeur will assume the starter's role for Canada, 'Bobby Lu' has given the Canadian brass something to think about with his play of late. That being said, Brodeur is no slouch either. He has a .912 save percentage and 2.44 goals against average over the same stretch; however his record is a less than inspiring 9-9-1 as the Devils slumped through January.

Despite the ups-and-downs, Canada remains in an enviable position in terms of scoring. Of the Top 10 current NHL scoring leaders, six are Canadians; two of those players (Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards) were not even named to the Olympic team. With scoring depth like that, it is no wonder Canada enters the tournament as a favourite to bring home the gold.

More Olympic discussion

[Kontiki]

If Getzlaf can't go, I think I'd give the nod to Richards. He's more of a set up guy á la Getzlaf, and he's shown himself to be quite good in interational play.

[Asher]

Lehtonen supposedly traded from Atlanta to Dallas tonight. Not official yet, though. He's not accompanying the team on the road trip.

[Asher]

The deal is Kari Lehtonen to Dallas for defenceman Ivan Vishnevsky and a fourth-round draft choice.

[Flubber]

The deal is Kari Lehtonen to Dallas for defenceman Ivan Vishnevsky and a fourth-round draft choice.

So where does Turco go ??

[Asher]

Probably Chicago, my guess.

[Flubber]

Probably Chicago, my guess.

Interesting choice-- Huet the supposed star keeper has mediocre numbers while Niemi has been excellent but untested-- Turco would provide experience and a history of some great playoff runs-- IT does look like a good fit for a playoff run this year

[Flubber]

OH and Bob macKenzie is saying Chicago and MONTREAL are in the Turco mix. His source on the MOntreal side is some guy that tweeted it. Mackenzie is giving it some weight sicne the only other tweet from the source was an exactly accurate call on the lehtonen trade about 5 hours before Mackenzie or anyone else knew about it.

When you think about it Montreal is in a similar spot as Chicago-- less Cup hopes but with respect to goalies. Each team has a supposed number one who has been "ok" and a number 2 that has been playing generally fantastic but who has no real playoff experience

[Asher]

Getzlaf DTD...conference call this afternoon with hockey canada.

He may not go still. Apparently Hitchcock thinks the main failing from 2006 was many of Canada's players played injured.

[Flubber]

Getzlaf DTD...conference call this afternoon with hockey canada.

He may not go still. Apparently Hitchcock thinks the main failing from 2006 was many of Canada's players played injured.

I can understand the concern. Its generally better to have a healthy "A" class player than a hobbled "A+" type player. Word though is the injury should be no concern but I am guessing hockey Canada will wait a couple of days and then ask Getzlaf to report back if he is hurting. Getlaf in my mind was an upper-tier type guy so its not like if a bubble player had an injury and you would immediately move to replace him-- I think they will give him a chance and see how it goes in his next game

[Asher]

Steve Tambellini goes shopping...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_W56x_LP__rg/S3NS47qBlGI/AAAAAAAABIo/h0jdkyoGWMA/s1600-h/15-3%28tamb%29%28SMALL%29.jpg

[notyoueither]

Harr harr.

OTOH, I prefer that he not do things because he thinks he has to, like send away draft picks to move contracts.

[Asher]

He's had the team two years now and he keeps using the excuse that he's not shaking things up because he's "evaluating the roster". Who is he fooling?

You need brass balls to be a good GM. This guy is a coward.

Oilers are the first team eliminated from the playoffs in the league, even before the Olympic break.

Why have they made NO moves at all? There are buyers. He'd be a fool to send away a single draft pick, but I suppose his hands are tied. There's a lot of terrible, terrible contracts weighing on the Oilers. Would be hard to move them...

I stand by my assertion that K-Lowe is and always has been an idiot.