How do you say "ouch" in Russian?

My guess is that many members of the Russian Olympic team are red in the race right now, and it's not from the cold. A great post from Greg Wyshynski wraps up the Russian loss to Canada in the Olympics:

Russia was embarrassed. To the point where Russian NHL player participation
in the 2014 Games in Sochi is now guaranteed; there's no other way to cleanse
the stench from this defeat. This game was supposed to be a classic. Instead, it
was a coronation for the Canadians in this rivalry.

If Russia is serious about pitting the Superleague against the NHL as the best place to play hockey in the world and keeping their talent in the Motherland , making the Russian team exciting to watch would be a good step in that direction.

Ovie in the Hockey News

I got my online copy of the Hockey News today and because I couldnt resist temptation, I opened it. I usually like to wait for my paper copy because seeing it nestled in my mailbox is a nice surprise to come home to. But, I was rewarded for opening it early with a feature on Ovie. You need a subscription for the link to work, but I am going to post the whole article here and hope the Hockey News doesnt sue me.

New centre, new expectations have Capitals star Alex Ovechkin geared up


Alex Ovechkin will have a new centre with the Washington Capitals this season and, for a change, a legitimate second line to go with more depth across the roster to help carry the load.

Even better, there are expectations his team will actually challenge for a playoff berth and make some noise in the Southeast Division - all reasons why the always-eager Russian winger is particularly geared up for the new campaign.

"We finally got more experienced guys like (Viktor) Kozlov, (Michael) Nylander, (Tom) Poti and we the young guys have more experience," the 22-year-old said on a conference call Monday.

"My goal is to make the playoffs."

A bevy of off-season moves were made with exactly that in mind.

The Capitals were 29-41-12 in 2005-06, Ovechkin's rookie season, and remained at the same level last season when they finished 28-40-14. Much of that time was spent identifying which young players would join Ovechkin in forming the nucleus of a contender.

Alexander Semin, another slick Russian winger, and defenceman Steve Eminger were two other key players to emerge while veteran Chris Clark elevated his game and took over as captain.

With the ever-reliable Olaf Kolzig still in goal, it's now up to the new guys like Nylander and Kozlov, who will centre the two top lines, and Poti, who will help anchor the blue-line, to push the team up another level.

"I think everybody understands we have to move forward," said Ovechkin. "That's why we signed good players."

Of course adding new players to the mix is one thing, while successfully integrating them is another and that's been one of the most closely watched issues so far at the Capitals training camp.

Some assumed that Nylander and Ovechkin would naturally be paired together but so far that hasn't been the case. Ovechkin has been skating with Kozlov and a variety of wingers while Nylander has been between Semin and 2006 first-round pick Nicklas Backstrom.

"Kozzie has good hands and he gets me the puck all the time," said Ovechkin. "I feel good right now on our line."

Ovechkin and Kozlov have some history together, skating on the same line at the 2006 Turin Olympics and training together in St. Petersburg, Russia over the summer with Semin, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar and Alexander Radulov, among others.

"I feel comfortable with everybody, but Kozlov is like Zubie (Dainius Zubrus) in my first year," said Ovechkin. "(Zubrus) was my centre and it's a big difference when you can understand each other in the Russian language. Like right now Nylander is playing with Backstrom and they talk in Swedish and sometimes it can make a difference."

Any centre who plays with Ovechkin needs to be smart enough to give him the puck and then help create a seam for him to exploit his outstanding acceleration and dazzling puck-handling ability. Just two seasons into his career, the first overall pick in 2004 already boasts too many highlight reel goals to count.

Ovechkin scored 52 goals with 54 assists in his rookie season and followed that up with 46 goals and 46 assists last year. That slight dip has caused him to identify an area of his game that needs improvement.

"I have to concentrate on my shot," he said. "I have lots of shots in the games, I have great moments to shoot but my shot's not perfect. I have to practice more."

That's bad news for NHL goalies but good news for fans used to watching his electrifying play. That will include more fans in the Western Conference next season once the NHL adopts a new schedule format with teams facing each other at least once, a move Ovechkin approves of.

"I like travelling, I like to go to different cities, I like to see different cities, different people, different teams," he said. "It's an experience."

One city he'd like to go back to is Vancouver.

"Oh yeah," he said. "Great sushi over there."

A busy Gainey and the return of Milbury?

The hockey world has been very busy and very productive this weekend. First, Bob Gainey managed to pull off another coup ( a la Jose Theodore) and dump Sergei Samsonov. Samsonov has been dealt to the Blackhawks, who I guess are desperate enough for some help that they are willing to take a whiny and under-achieving winger.

"We feel he has a lot left in the tank and playing under Denis Savard will bring out the offensive creativity that he has shown in the past," Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon said Saturday.

Translation: Our owner sucks and wont let us spend any money on bringing in talent while he has simultaneously ruined a once awesome hockey town. Nobody will sign with us because of aforementioned owner. We are desperate.

On paper, Gainey might not have gotten a whole lot in return but peace in the locker room is not to be under-rated. Do svidaniya Sergei.

Bob Gainey concluded his weekend by re-signing two players who have been an important part of the foundation in Habs-land, F Christopher Higgins and D Mike Komisarek. These guys are solid players who show up every night. And its pretty cool that both are American players.

Higgins, a former Yale star from Smithtown, N.Y., recently completed his second NHL season. He had 22 goals and 38 points in 61 games, missing significant time with an ankle injury.
Komisarek, who is from Islip Terrace, N.Y., is coming off his fourth year in the league. He had personal bests in games (82), goals (four), assists (15) and points (19).

Their signing is also an early test of what players will be commanding on the market come July 1st. Both were signed to 3.4 million dollar deals -- 1.5 mil the first season and 1.9 the next. So the question is this: what will free agents (Gomez, Drury, Briere, Giguere) be asking for? Enough to buy Long Island, most likely.

Its safe to say Dave Lewis had a craptastic weekend. After just one season as bench boss for the Bruins, he was sacked on Friday. I didnt follow the Bruins enough to comment on Lewis, but Heather does. Lewis is getting "reassigned" to another post in the organization. Lewis sounds just a wee bit pissed:

"As a coach, you go into a new organization not really sure what you have and not sure what you need. By the end of the year, I knew what we had and I knew what we needed and then you just don't get a chance to start on with the next season," Lewis said Friday in an interview with Boston's WHDH-TV.

But Boston has got bigger problems -- Mike Milbury is apparently being considered for the coaching job.