Hockey Hearsay compiles stories from around the hockey world and runs weekdays, 12 months a year.
LEAFS’ VAN RIEMSDYK RELISHES PLAYOFF TEST
The Globe and Mail describes how while still only 23, Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk nonetheless is one of Toronto’s grizzled vets when it comes to the postseason.
His three years with the Flyers included a trip to the final in 2010, an eye-opening seven goals in 11 games the following season and an uneventful seven games a year ago when he was recovering from injury.
“I’m starting to think about [how hard it is to win a Cup] a little bit more, as you play a few more years and see how lucky I was in my first year,” van Riemsdyk said. “Not only do you have to be a good player, but you have to be a little bit lucky, too, to be on a team that has success.
“It was a thrill to play in that situation and hopefully we can do some good things like that this year.”
As someone who has been there before, he believes he’ll be ready for the challenge.
“I think that’s just when you find out a lot about players, when the chips are down and big games like that,” he said. “Those were always games I liked playing in growing up. Some people might look at it as more pressure, but I look at it as an opportunity.”
KINGS HEATING UP AT RIGHT TIME
The New York Times supposes that if the Los Angeles Kings appear relaxed, it is probably because they seem to prosper as the stakes rise. After squeaking into the playoffs as the eighth seed last season, they captured their first Stanley Cup, with a 16-4 postseason.
“We do it every season — our consistency and our whole play has ups and downs throughout the year,” said Dustin Brown, the Kings’ captain. “The later in the season, the better we start playing as a group, and that’s the way you want it.”
The Kings lost 8 of their first 13 games but find themselves in a position to have the home-ice advantage in a playoff series for the first time since 1992.
“At the start, I think we needed to get smacked around a little bit,” the assistant general manager Ron Hextall said. “We won last year, and I think we were living on that a little.”
The Kings may once again be peaking at the right time.
“You can feel the excitement building with every game being bigger and bigger now,” Jarret Stoll said. “We’re wired to be competitive. We thrive off that competitiveness, and we get after it.”
LOCKOUT SEASON TESTS RANGERS’ LUNDQVIST
Newsday points out Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will start his 12th consecutive game and 41st of the season against the Panthers Monday night.
“It’s been a test, it really has,” said Lundqvist. “That extra day [last year] between games, sometimes you get two days, it makes a big difference,” he said. “When you play every other day and you have a back-to-back in there as well . . . All you do is prepare for the game, you play the game, you recover from the game and start over . . .
“It’s mental now; you think about something else, family, friends, then you come back to the rink recharged. I don’t mind it, though. I don’t think they want to change the lineup. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll get a break this week, but I know I’m going [Tuesday night].”
Lundqvist, who won the Vezina Trophy last year and did not play in Europe during the lockout, said he knew before the season that the schedule was “going to be intense. But I had such a long break, I don’t feel that tired. You try to look at it as positive as possible. As a group, we’re in a good flow. The good thing is, we do our job and we’re in. If we make it, I’ll have the time to get some rest. You set the bar high; we just don’t want to get in. I hope we have a couple more months of hockey.”
CANES IMPRESSED WITH SEMIN
The Raleigh News & Observer relays that Eric Staal, the Canes team captain, said he knew nothing of Alexander Semin’s personality before the season began in January. In seven years with the Washington Capitals, Semin played many games against the Canes in the Southeast Division and scored a lot of goals, but that was the extent of Staal’s knowledge of him.
“I’ve since gotten to know him on a personal level as well as a competitive level,” Staal said. “He’s a guy who has been a good teammate to everybody. He’s a guy who has been ready to work and ready to compete, in practice and games,
“For me, to be able to play with a guy with the work ethic he has and then the skill level he has, it has been fun. It has made my game better.”
Canes coach Kirk Muller offered this: “The thing with Alex – he’s not going to do everything 100 percent in alignment with your system because he thinks the game in a special way,” Muller said. “He reads the play one play ahead of a lot of people. He’s a smart hockey player.”
SHARKS’ COUTURE EMERGES AS LEADER
CSNBayArea.com indicates that for the first time this season in his four-year career, Logan Couture has been included by coach Todd McLellan in the team’s leadership group, an obvious sign that the Sharks’ coaching staff and organization thinks very highly of the man who seems to be on the path to becoming their future captain at some point.
“It’s evolving more with his play and his dominance on the ice. He’s exerting himself, and guys are following,” McLellan said of Couture’s stake in the team, and presence among its leaders.
“As the years go on, players can’t play forever, and Logan is a very good young player in the league and he’s been around some important people that have taught him a lot of good things about leadership. He’ll have to grow his skills that way as time goes on.”
STATE OF HOCKEY IN THE UNITED STATES
CSNWashington.com reports NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and USA Hockey Executive Director Dave Ogrean will join members of Congress in a Congressional Hockey Caucus Briefing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday at 11 a.m.
The briefing will focus on the state of hockey in the U.S., including instructional hockey and safety in youth sports. NBC News reporter Luke Russert will moderate the panel. The panel will examine USA Hockey’s American Developmental Model (ADM), an instructional format that provides age-appropriate guidelines and curriculum to hockey associations across America to help more kids play, love and excel in hockey.
PANTHERS’ BJUGSTAD ADJUSTS TO NHL
The Miami Herald notes that three weeks after competing in the NCAA Division I tournament with the University of Minnesota, 20-year-old center Nick Bjugstad skated in front of hostile crowds gearing up for NHL postseason action.
“To actually get out there and play in buildings like Boston and New York and New Jersey — those are great challenges for a young player,” Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. “I think it helps him moving forward in the future.”
He added: “I think he’s understanding the amount of work that goes into it as well,” Dineen said. “It’s still the learning curve of playing center and against top players in the league. It’s an exciting time for him, and I think he’s coming to the rink every day and showing a commitment to getting better every day. I think that’s what you’re looking for.”
VISNOVSKY, HICKEY PAIRING WORKS FOR ISLES
Newsday takes the position that ten years ago, maybe even five years ago, you’d have had a difficult time finding a coach who’d pair two defensemen shorter than 6 feet. It goes against the big, physical blueliner mentality that most in the NHL have.
But Jack Capuano did it with Lubomir Visnovsky and Thomas Hickey, both generously listed at 5-10. The result has been a second-pair combo who lead the Isles in plus-minus as well as the advanced statistic known as “Corsi,” which measures total shots — including those blocked and missed — for and against while a player is on the ice.
“It’s about puck possession and about being on the right side of the puck,” Hickey said. “When you have the puck and you can move it quickly, that’s as important as the physical side.”