The Hockey Stop

When the puck drops between Canada and Russia you just never know what will happen. At Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta tonight another magnificent chapter was written between these two hockey-loving nations and intense rivals. In the World Junior Hockey Championship semi-finals the Russians dominated the Canadians 6-1 into the third period until the Canucks mounted a furious comeback attempt to cut the lead to 6-5 with just under five minutes remaining to send the sold-out, red-clad partisan crowd into a frenzy.

The fifth goal lead to a netminder change and with less than a minute to go Ryan Strome hit the post and Russia hung on for the victory despite being outshot in the game 56-24. They will face Sweden in the Gold Medal game while Canada will play Finland for the Bronze.

Washington Capitals prospect and Russian captain Yevgeni Kuznetsov scored a hat trick and 2012 NHL Draft projected number one pick Nail Yakupov had four assists.

Even though these are the junior teams, the epic nature of the game still adds to the storied rivalry between the two nations. It seems only appropriate that this dramatic match took place only a day after Versus relaunched its brand as NBC Sports Network by airing the documentary "Cold War on Ice: Summit Series '72" celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and Russia. Of course that series was all the more dramatic because it took place at the height of the Cold War and political tensions added to the heated action on the ice.

Ten years ago I visited the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto with my father and we were treated to the 1972 Summit Series 30th Anniversary festivities. At a press conference we got to see Phil and Tony Esposito and other Team Canada legends speak about the dramatic series. That moment really crystallized for me how much hockey means to these two countries. In Canada they say hockey is religion and the mystical bond between a nation and a sport is really seen at the National Cathedral in Toronto, otherwise known as the Hockey Hall of Fame's Great Hall, where the domed ceiling features stained glass windows reminiscent of old European churches and Canadians file past the Holy Grail -- Lord Stanley's Cup. Even in French the building at the corner of Front and Yonge Streets has religious connotations, as it is called Temple de la renommée du hockey.

For the citizens of Russia and Canada tonight the almost miracle comeback (another religious reference) was another glorious chapter in this storied rivalry. For the rest of us it was simply one of the most entertaining games of the year. And it builds anticipation for the next time Russia and Canada battle on the ice.

Russia beat Canada 5-3 tonight to win the World Junior Championship Gold Medal at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. In coming back from a three goal deficit in the third period, Russia stunned the Canucks and their red-clad fans, who came in the thousands from across the border to cheer on their countrymen.

The miracle on ice, which took place not far from Lake Placid, where another miracle happened at the 1980 Olympics, is revenge for the thrashing by Team Canada at the most recent Olympic Games in Vancouver. It was the third comeback victory for Russia in the tournament, having rallied against Sweden and Finland to get to the Gold Medal game.

The comeback win was Russia's first Gold since 2003. The win also snapped Canada's three straight victories over Russia in the WJC Gold Medal game from 2005-2007.

So the great rivalry continues as tonight was perhaps the greatest collapse in Canadian hockey history. I can't wait to see what Don Cherry has to say about his farm boys losing in this fashion to the Russkies. One team had a whole lot of heart in this game and their comeback was like the powerful currents of the River Volga sending a message to the hockey world that Russia is back.

Most hockey fans remember goalie Mike Richter leading the New York Rangers to the Stanley Cup in 1994.

It was the Blueshirts' first championship since 1940 and happened in a thrilling Game 7 victory at Madison Square Garden over the Vancouver Canucks by a score of 3-2 to send Gotham into a frenzy.

But not many know about the Hall of Fame netminder's off-ice heroics of late. Richter is committed to a much tougher task than stopping pucks -- he is speaking out about fighting climate change and his target is the tar sands of Canada.

The Abingdon, Pa., native and father of three sons recently teamed with the Sierra Club to advocate for a clean energy economy in America and he also wrote an op-ed against a proposed Canada-to-USA dirty oil pipeline that ran in newspapers in the United States and Canada.

In the op-ed he points out the inconvenient truth of the Athabasca Oil Sands and the devastation they cause the environment (including the threat of killing as many as 166 million migratory birds over the next five decades, one of which is seen below):

"The Canadian province of Alberta is home to a form of oil that is considered the dirtiest on earth. It's called the oil sands, and each barrel creates three times the global-warming pollution of conventional oil. That's a staggering amount of carbon," writes Richter.

And in his letter to Sierra Club supporters he says the following:

"I'm calling my senators because I want my three sons to benefit from a lifetime of winter sports, to graduate in a country that continues to be a world leader in industry and innovation, especially when it comes to clean energy, and to protect them from the reliance on foreign oil that threatens our national security."

But is it too late to stop the dirtiest oil on the planet from crossing the border into America? Perhaps. From Wikipedia:

"On August 20, 2009, the U.S. State Department issued a presidential permit for an Alberta Clipper Pipeline that will run from Hardisty, Alberta to Superior, Wisconsin. The pipeline will be capable of carrying up to 450,000 barrels of crude oil a day from the Athabasca Oil Sands to U.S. refineries."

I checked the State Department website and in the press release of the Alberta Clipper Pipeline permit it includes the strikingly contradictory statements that greenhouse gas emissions were taken into account and that the United States is committed to reducing carbon emissions and reducing dependence on oil.

Huh? Then why start pumping the filthiest fossil fuel on the planet into Wisconsin. Doesn't make sense. If this is the idea of addressing climate change than I agree with Richter and suggest scrapping this pipeline. But I'll let Richter speak for himself:

"We can't seriously combat global warming while getting fuel from the world's dirtiest source. If we allow Canada's oil sands project to creep across our border, it will lock our nation into dependence on yet another foreign source of oil, just as our local clean-energy industry is beginning to thrive.

Right now, we are poised to become a leader in the global clean-energy economy. By taking the steps to ensure that we are the leader of the next industrial revolution, we can reignite our economy, bolster national security and improve the health of our people.

One of the most important things we can do to demonstrate that leadership is to say no to Canada's oil sands. For now, the decision rests with the Obama administration. By denying permits for pipelines and refineries in the United States, President Obama can signal to the world that we are serious about fighting climate change and helping American clean-energy technologies thrive.

If he does, we just might be able to save the winter games we love -- and set a new course for the nation we cherish."

Thanks, Mike Richter, for doing what's right and taking a stand on this important issue. While he is busy as a founding partner in the private equity firm Environmental Capital Partners and was considering running for U.S. Congress under Connecticut's 4th congressional district in 2008, my hope is that Richter brings his message to Washington. President Obama and Congress need to hear from a hero like Richter.

My brief trip to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics was simply amazing. Most Americans only viewed the Games through the prism of NBC, which is unfortunate. While much early emphasis was rightly placed on the tragic (and avoidable) death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili, the event didn't tarnish the spirit of the Olympics at all.

This was my first Olympics so I have nothing to compare it to, but kudos to the city of Vancouver, the province of British Columbia and the country of Canada for a superb job hosting the world.

Vancouver is a modern, clean, efficient, friendly and cosmopolitan city that is easy to get around. While it was crowded, I never felt claustrophobic and while the security was tight, it was always in the background.

Here is a photo and video tour of my two days at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics:

Welcome to Vancouver, eh! There was a large Korean group in line at customs so the wait was long. But everyone was in good spirits and friendly. This is Canada after all! Plus there was a humongous video screen showing the Olympic events to pass the time.


Who's that waiting in line at customs? It's actor Michael Madsen! He is probably the only straight guy who can get away with carrying a Louis Vuitton bag through an airport. Would you question his masculinity? I didn't think so.


NBC hospitality program representative. She wasn't very friendly. Go figure. This is the network that forced out Conan O'Brien and decided to tape delay the Olympics by three hours on the West Coast even though the games are on the West Coast. To say NBC has problems is an understatement.


Vancouver's brand new Canada Line SkyTrain zips you from the airport to downtown. It is fast, frequent and clean. Upon my return to Los Angeles while I was choking on exhaust fumes waiting for the FlyAway bus at LAX, I was wishing L.A. had a train to the airport like Vancouver. There was lots of room for luggage and bicycles or strollers for families. It never felt cramped even on a packed train coming back to the hotel from the hockey game at Canada Place. And again those Canadians are just so darn friendly.


Here is video of the trip from the Vancouver airport to our hotel in Richmond. One day L.A., one day we will get a train like this to LAX!




Canada is the most apologetic nation in the world. Saying sorry is not a sign of weakness as in the United States but simply a part of everyday conversation. Even the buses say they are sorry when they are not in service or full.


What's a trip to Vancouver without a Mountie picture! Well, at least a cardboard version. There are few more recognizable uniforms in the world than those of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.


Welcome to the Visa-McDonald's-Starbucks-Nike-Coke Olympics! One has to wonder what the Ancient Greeks would have thought of the corporatization of the Games. The Olympics should be about country not commercials and consumption. But this is the reality so charge that Big Mac and Dr Pepper on your Visa card and get ready for some hockey!


The Olympic Rings and the Olympic Cauldron. These are the real lasting symbols of the spirit of the Games. Not Visa. Television does not do the Olympic Flame justice. It is breathtaking up close and was the highlight of the trip.

Here is video of the Olympic Cauldron:




The stereotype of Canadians is that they are a humble people lacking in national pride compared to the United States. So it was both surprising and refreshing to see the streets of Vancouver turned into a sea of red and white. The patriotism was especially evident after Canada defeated Russia 7-3. "O, Canada" was full-throated on the SkyTrain by Canucks with one too many Molsons and the Maple Leaf flag was draped across the backs of many proud people from the Great White North. These two guys above are celebrating Canada's win over Russia.


The thousands of volunteers were amazing. They did a fantastic job riling up the sometimes nonpartisan crowds at the events. This crazy Canuck got the crowd juiced up for the men's hockey game between Sweden and Slovakia.


Video of Sweden vs. Slovakia:




Sometimes you just shrug your shoulders and don't even try to understand what they were thinking. But hey, it's the Olympics. It's all good fun.


The Vancouver Winter Olympics were the greenest Games ever. The organizers made sure to make the events as environmentally friendly as possible. There were plenty of recycling and composting receptacles, and of course every venue was easily accessible by bus or rail. The bar has been set high in terms of reducing the carbon footprint of a major international event. Great job being green, Canada!


Team Sweden's two biggest fans. Too bad for them the Swedes lost to Finland in overtime. The president of Finland, Tarja Halonen, was on hand to witness the Suomi women win the Bronze Medal at Canada Place. It was a special moment. I've personally never experienced anything like it. To see the emotional reaction of a country like Finland after winning a medal was exhilarating. At that moment for the first time I understood what the Olympics Spirit is all about.


The thrill of victory.


The agony of defeat.


Video of the Finns celebrating their overtime win for the Bronze Medal:

Team Canada defeated the Americans 3-2 in overtime to take the Gold Medal in the final event at Canada Place before Sunday's closing ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Sidney Crosby scored the game winner against goalie Ryan Miller, setting off an emotional celebration amongst the thousands of red-and-white clad maple leaf flag waving Canadians in the stands and streets of Vancouver.

The United States tied the game with 24 seconds left off a shot by Zach Parise, which sent the game into the extra session.

The 14th Gold Medal for Canada in these games set an all-time Olympics record.

The USA's total medal count of 37 led all countries and also set an Olympics record for most medals. The Americans topped Germany's 36 in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

In the consolation game Finland defeated Slovakia 5-3 in a come-from-behind victory for the Bronze Medal.

UPDATE: Not surprisingly, Sunday's epic game was the most-watched hockey game in the United States since the Gold Medal game in 1980 when the USA beat Finland after the "Miracle on Ice" against the Soviet Union. Sunday's game drew an average viewership of 27.6 million and a rating of 15.2. The peak of 34.8 million surpassed the 32.8 million viewers who watched the 1980 game.

The game was also not surprisingly the most-watched TV broadcast in Canadian history.

Buffalo, home of tournament MVP Ryan Miller, was the top U.S. market.

On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the greatest United States Olympics hockey victory -- the 1980 Miracle on Ice team that defeated the Soviets in Lake Placid -- the USA defeated Canada 5-3 in Vancouver, B.C.

While Brian Rafalski scored two goals and had an assist, the hero of the game was netminder Ryan Miller. The Buffalo Sabres goaltender turned away 42 shots in a magnificent performance.

The win was by far the biggest upset since the Miracle on Ice and stunned Canada. Not only was the host country expected to defeat the Americans, who looked shaky in their first two games, but beating the attention-grabbing neighbors to the south would have been a source of rare pride in this humble nation.

But it wasn't to be and it is back to the drawing board for Team Canada. As Canadians try to shake off that sick feeling in the pits of their stomachs, their national team will now have to play another preliminary game to make it to the quarterfinals. But Canada can still regroup and make a medal run.

Meanwhile, the United States is now not only respected but is oozing with confidence after their victory. The Americans now have to be in the discussion with Canada, Russia and Sweden when it comes to taking the Gold Medal in these Olympics.

But for now a country that needed a feel-good boost got it. And so let's savor this moment when we can all come together as Americans as we did in 1980 and celebrate another Miracle on Ice.

Russians beat Czech Republic 4-2

On a day when Evgeni Malkin scored two goals and added an assist to upstage his Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Sidney Crosby, it was Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin who provided the game-changing moment with a devastating hit on Jaromir Jagr to send Alex Semin and Malkin to the races. Semin passed to Malkin who shot the puck into the back of the net for a 4-2 lead.

The last game against Slovakia, Ovechkin leveled 6 foot 8, 253 pound defenseman Zdeno Chara not once but twice. Ovechkin loves to hit almost as much as he loves to score. And he isn't afraid to go after the big boys.

Here is the video of Ovechkin's crushing hit on Jagr:

I love the Winter Olympics. I don't care if it's curling or alpine skiing. It's all good. But men's ice hockey starts today and everything else takes a back seat to the best players in the world facing off for their home countries. Nothing beats it.

Will Sid the Kid deliver a Gold Medal for the host country?

Will Alex the Great and the Russians ruin Canada's medal hopes?

Will goaltender Ryan Miller and team USA deliver an upset or two?

Will Peter Forsberg and Sweden repeat their Torino heroics and win gold again?

And what about Teemu Selanne's Finnish squad? They are no pushovers.

An important factor concerns the size of the rink at these games. Normally for the Winter Games the ice sheet is bigger which generally favors the more finesse play of the skilled European players. But a last-minute decision was made to stick with the NHL-sized Canada Place sheet because of the significant number of seats that would have had to be removed to accomodate an international-sized rink.

The common wisdom is that this favors Canada and the USA because North American players are used to dealing with less time and space to work with and also play the game in a slower, more rough-and-tumble way suited for smaller rinks.

But on second examination, I'm not so sure this applies anymore. With so many European-bred players making the adjustment to the NHL-sized rinks I don't think it will be as big a factor as some pundits proclaim. Players such as Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin have learned to change their style of play and have thus been incredibly succesful. And in fact this entire generation of NHL Euro stars has succesfully made the transition to the smaller rink. However, the rest of the non-NHL players on the European teams is another question. Teams such as Latvia and Slovakia may indeed struggle, but I don't think NHL-stacked teams like Russia and Sweden will have much of a problem.

The anticipation has been building for hockey to begin in this puck-mad city and country. It was fitting that national heroes Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky (pictured above) lit the Olympic flame inside BC Place last Friday night. And to see The Great One riding down the streets of a rainy Vancouver on his way to the outdoor flame lighting as the frenzied throngs chased his car was unforgettable.

This is a city and a country that appreciates and loves the game of hockey like no other.

So Game On!

I'll be at The Parlor sports bar in Santa Monica this weekend live-blogging the men's hockey games so be sure to check out SportsFanLive's Olympics live blog page.

I will be leaving for Vancouver a week from this Wednesday and will be attending a couple of hockey games and a speed skating match and will be updating The Hockey Stop blog with my observations from the Olympics so be sure to log on starting Feb. 24 for daily hockey coverage from Vancouver. It is my first Olympics so it should be exciting.

Here is the men's ice hockey schedule:

Tuesday, February 16

12 p.m. USA vs. Switzerland (Men's Preliminary Round -- Group A, Game 1)

4:30 p.m. Canada vs. Norway (Men's Preliminary Round -- Group A, Game 2)

9 p.m. Russia vs. Latvia (Men's Preliminary Round -- Group A, Game 3)

Wednesday, February 17

12 p.m. Finland vs. Belarus (Men's Preliminary Round -- Group C, Game 4)

4:30 p.m. Sweden vs. Germany (Men's Preliminary Round -- Group C, Game 5)

9 p.m. Czech Republic vs. Slovakia (Men's Preliminary Round -- Group B, Game 6)

Thursday, February 18

12 p.m. USA vs. Norway (Men's Preliminary Round - Group A Game 7)

4:30 p.m. Switzerland vs. Canada (Men's Preliminary Round - Group A Game 8)

9 p.m. Slovakia vs. Russia (Men's Preliminary Round - Group B Game 9)

Friday, February 19

12 p.m. Belarus vs. Sweden (Men's Preliminary Round - Group C Game 10)

4:30 p.m. Czech Republic vs. Latvia (Men's Preliminary Round - Group B Game 11)

9 p.m. Finland vs. Germany (Men's Preliminary Round - Group C Game 12)

Saturday, February 20

12 p.m. Norway vs. Switzerland (Men's Preliminary Round - Group A Game 13)

4:30 p.m. Latvia vs. Slovakia (Men's Preliminary Round - Group B Game 14)

9 p.m. Germany vs. Belarus (Men's Preliminary Round - Group C Game 15)

Sunday, February 21

12 p.m. Russia vs. Czech Republic (Men's Preliminary Round - Group B Game 16)

4:40 p.m. Canada vs USA (Men's Preliminary Round - Group A Game 17)

9 p.m. Sweden vs. Finland (Men's Preliminary Round - Group C Game 18)

Tuesday, February 23

12:00 - Men's Playoffs Qualifications - Game 19

Scheduled 4:30 - Men's Playoffs Qualifications - Game 20

Scheduled 7:00 - Men's Playoffs Qualifications - Game 21

Scheduled 9:00 - Men's Playoffs Qualifications - Game 22

Wednesday, February 24

12:00 - Men's Playoffs Quarterfinals - Game 23

Scheduled 4:30 - Men's Playoffs Quarterfinals - Game 24

Scheduled 7:00 - Men's Play-offs Quarterfinals - Game 25

9:00 - Men's Playoffs Quarterfinals - Game 26

Friday, February 26

12 p.m. - Men's Playoffs Semifinals - Game 27

6:30 p.m. - Men's Playoffs Semifinals - Game 28

Saturday February 27

Medal Event Scheduled 7 p.m. - Men's Bronze Medal Game - Game 29

Sunday, February 28

Medal Event Scheduled 12:15 - Men's Gold Medal Game - Game 30

YZERMAN SNUBS GREEN



Calgary native Mike Green was left off Team Canada's Olympics roster. What a shame. I don't know what executive director Steve Yzerman was thinking when he left the Washington Capitals' Norris-nominated defenseman off the team. What I do know is that it was a mistake.

Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, all of 20 years, made the cut over Green? Come on. The National Post quoted Yzerman as saying he picked players who "will you to a win." And what does Green do then?

In the 2007-2008 season Caps commentator Joe Beninati nicknamed Green "Game Over" because he finished the season with 4 game-winning goals along with a league-leading 18 goals by a defenseman for 56 points. Last season Green set an NHL record by scoring in eight consecutive games. As of Dec. 13 he led all defensemen with 32 points (6 goals and 26 assists) in 32 games.

I just don't understand this decision, other than a bias against offensive-minded defensemen. Green should be skating in Vancouver in February. Oh well, I guess this is more ammunition for Green to prove the critics wrong. Expect a big second half of the season for the All-Star blue-liner.

SUN-TIMES: BLACKHAWKS ONE OF DECADE'S BIGGEST LOCAL STORIES



The rise of the Chicago Blackhawks is No. 6 on the Chicago Sun-Times' top ten biggest local stories of the decade. No. 1? The White Sox winning the World Series of course! Here is the 'Hawks entry from the Sun-Times website:

"6. Rocky Wirtz takes over the Blackhawks

When longtime Blackhawks chairman Bill Wirtz passed away in September 2007, he left behind a crumbling organization, a lousy hockey team and an embittered fan base. Enter son Rocky Wirtz. Within days, he vowed to put fans first and to restore the franchise to its glory days of the past. And he has delivered on his promises, rapidly transforming the organization into one of the best in the NHL. Hawks games, long an afterthought in this city, have become exciting, must-see events. And the team has become a Stanley Cup contender."

BIG TRADE: CHIMERA FOR CLARK, JURCINA



The Caps and Jackets made a big mid-season trade, with gritty, hard-charging forward Jason Chimera going to the Caps for veteran forward and captain Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina. I got a taste of Chimera's fearless net-crashing turbo boosters while watching last night's 5-2 loss at San Jose on NHL GameCenter Live. At one point late in the game Chimera skated full speed towards Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabakov. He nearly scored, but instead flew into and over Nabakov. Chimera should be a valuable irritant to opposing goalies.

IMPACT! MAGAZINE MAKING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT?



The December 2009 issue of NHL.com's Impact! Magazine is available online. The cover story is about the rise of Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin. The web-only edition looks great and is easy to read online by flipping the virtual pages the same way you would read a print magazine. But if the point of providing the magazine online instead of print is to save paper and the environment, then NHL.com probably shouldn't lead off with this:

"The best part: print out the entire magazine and take it with you!"

DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN, I MEAN KINGS DEFEAT FLAMES



As an online news editor myself I can certainly sympathize with late-night errors when your eyes and mind are a bit foggy. But still, this is really bad. On the top of NHL.com the final score is 2-1 Flames over Kings, but the headline (which was up for a good 45 minutes) says "Kings edge Flames." Somebody was asleep at the Zamboni!

Could there be a thaw in the Cold War between Canadian commentator Don Cherry and Russian hockey player Alexander Ovechkin?

In a shocking revelation during the first intermission of the Leafs-Caps game last Saturday night on CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada," Cherry actually had some positive things to say about the Great Eight. The comments came after Ovie's 87 mile-per-hour cannon that scorched the back of the twine at Air Canada Center.

For those who aren't familiar with the plaid suit-wearing personality, Cherry has a jingoistic view of hockey players. In other words, he prefers farm-bred boys from Saskatchewan over finesse-bred boys from Sweden.

And he has gained a reputation for having a particular dislike of Ovechkin. This was evident after Ovechkin's celebration following his 50th goal last year in which he pretended his stick was on fire and was too hot to touch. On CBC, Cherry defended the "Canadian way" and derisively compared Ovie to the "goofy" celebrations soccer players make after scoring a goal. He then predicted that someone was going to hurt Ovie by "cutting him in half."

Fast forward to last Saturday night.

Cherry still went on his same tired routine about the curve of Ovie's stick (as if the stick is the reason for AO's lighting the lamp every five seconds) and that Ovechkin is getting a "free ride" because he plays a physical game and finishes his checks but never has to drop the gloves (as if there is a correlation between the two).

But then the anti-Euro provocateur actually had something positive to say about Ovie when the topic turned to his two-game suspension for a knee-on-knee hit. When asked if Ovechkin should change the way he plays Cherry said this:

"You don't get it, I love the way he plays. I love that he is hell bent on banging and smashing and everything. I think he's great. I hope he keeps it up. All I'm saying is he's going to get hurt doing it. But you can't change your bull terrier. Your bull terrier's got to play like a pit bull. That's the way he is, that's the way he plays -- like a pit bull ... don't get me wrong, I like Ovechkin."

And considering how popular Ovechkin and the European-stacked Caps are in Canada, Cherry would be wise to tone down his inflammatory and provincial comments. The demand to see Washington is so high that they were featured on "Hockey Night in Canada" four times in the past five weeks, which is more than the Canadiens, Senators, Flames, Oilers and Canucks.

Hockey players are supposed to be some of the toughest guys on the planet. I mean when you are from towns such as Moose Jaw, Canada and Moscow, Russia then you are likely to have Superman-like immunity.

However, a recent rash of Swine Flu victims is challenging that notion.

The four cases reported so far have NHL teams scrambling to prevent the H1N1 virus from spreading.

Washington Capitals left wing Quintin Lang joins Edmonton's Ladislav Smid (pictured above), Colorado's Peter Budaj and Doug Weight of the New York Islanders in being diagnosed with the dreaded virus.

The Canadian Press reports that Smid did indeed test positive for the Swine Flu, but the 23-year-old defenseman didn't miss a game and was back on the ice after resting for two days. Other Oilers players have been hit harder by the seasonal flu. The players are taking the initiative to stay away from the rink if they feel sick.

After Avs backup goalie Budaj came down with H1N1, the team put a plan into effect, reports The Denver Post. If a player is diagnosed he will be isolated while preventative medications will be given to his teammates.

Newsday reports that Weight has returned to the Isles lineup following his bout with the Swine Flu, in which he missed three games. Weight chose to isolate himself from his family and teammates while he was recovering.

According to The Washington Post, some of the precautions the Caps are taking include hand sanitizers being placed around their Arlington, Virginia practice facility. But when hockey players share the same locker room, water bottles, equipment, towels, sweat and blood, is it really possible to stop the flu from spreading?

Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said the following to the Post's Capitals beat writer Tarik El-Bashir:

"I'm hoping to shake fewer hands. It gets in your hands and fingers, and germs get in your cuticles. Everybody you meet is nice and wants to shake your hand. You don't want to be rude and say no, but . . ."

Injury News Update: The latest injury news comes from Pittsburgh where it was revealed today that Penguins star Evgeni Malkin will be sidelined 2-3 weeks with a strained right shoulder. The loss comes soon after it was announced that defenseman Sergei Gonchar will be out 4-6 weeks with a broken wrist.

It turns out President Obama is a hockey fan after all.

On his first official visit to Russia as commander-in-chief, Obama singled out Washington Capitals star left winger and Moscow native Alex Ovechkin as "outstanding."

Washington Post blogger Dan Steinberg reports that Obama, speaking to students at Moscow's New Economic School Tuesday morning, said the following:

"As a resident of Washington, D.C., I continue to benefit from the contributions of Russians -- specifically, from Alexander Ovechkin," the President said. "We are very pleased to have him in Washington, D.C."





Hockey fans might remember the president chose Canada for his first official foreign visit, raising hopes that the Hawaii native might have picked up L.A. Kings games on the airwaves and became a closet puckhead while growing up in Oahu. These hopes were dashed when during a CBC interview he admitted he had never attended a professional hockey game.

However, he did say at the end of the CBC interview that he would like to see a game at some point. And this morning when NBC political correspondent Chuck Todd pressed the prez on having never been to a hockey game, Obama responded by saying he has watched hockey (presumably on TV) and has seen Ovechkin play, but then drew the "born in Hawaii" defense for being more of a basketball guy then a hockey guy.

But these are all encouraging signs and the fact that Capitals owner Ted Leonsis has already invited Obama to a game hopefully means that he will be paying a visit to the Verizon Center next season to see Alexander Ovechkin in person.

Whether Obama attends a Caps game probably has a lot to do with the chances of the Chicago Blackhawks visiting Washington (Obama attended a Bulls-Wizards game last season).

Memo to NHL schedule-makers: It's not too late to pencil in Hawks @ Caps next season!

Friday night's Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on NBC was the most-watched NHL game in 36 years with an average of 8 million viewers.

The network's press release said the previous mark was a 1973 Stanley Cup Final Game 6 between Montreal and Chicago on NBC which drew 9.4 million.

The game earned a 4.3 rating, the best for a series-ending Final game since Anaheim-New Jersey's 4.6 rating in 2003.

NBC Sports' broadcast finished No. 1 for the night in every category including viewership and household ratings.

The closing minutes of the game, which saw Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury make a spectacular last-second save to preserve the 2-1 win (pictured above), drew about 10 million viewers.

These figures are likely higher because Nielsen only reports home television sets tuned into the program and since the game was on a Friday night there were many sports bars, airport lounges and hotel rooms tuned into the game.

Also, when CBC's Canadian coverage is factored in, plus international broadcasts in hot spots such as Russia and Sweden, the total audience grows even bigger.

In related news, Puck the Media blogger Steve Lepore reports that the NHL is on the verge of announcing a broadcast deal with NBC for the next two seasons. The revenue-sharing deal is great news for those hockey fans wanting more exposure for the league, as Game 7 on NBC clearly demonstrates the potential of the games being aired on network TV as opposed to specialty channels such as Versus.

The deal should hopefully include all seven Stanley Cup Finals games on NBC. Also, when the contract with Versus expires in 2011 the NHL should not renew but instead air regular season and playoff games on one of NBC Universal's basic cable channels, the most obvious fit being USA Network.