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April 16, 2012
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
PLAYOFF WaRRIORS
IN THE PLAYOFFS, DANGER LURKS IN EVERY CORNER. EACH ADVERSARY HAS A CHANCE TO END YOUR DREAM AND NO ONE TAKES A NIGHT OFF. IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES, WE LOOK AT THE MEN, THE SOLDIERS, WHO ARE CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF ANY STANLEY CUP-WINNING TEAM. THEY ARE ARCHETYPES, BUT THEY ARE ALSO REAL AND PRESENT. IN THE POST-SEASON, YOUR FAVORITE TEAM BECOMES A GANG, WHICH IS WHY OUR PLAYOFF COVERAGE IS INSPIRED BY THE CULT CLASSIC FILM ‘THE WARRIORS.’ ALL THE NHL’S CHARACTERS ARE COMING OUT TO PLAY. THEIR MISSION IS TO GET BACK TO THEIR HOME TURF WITH THE STANLEY CUP. CAAAAN YOOOU DIG IIIIIIIIIIT? PLAYS HURT IT’S NOT AS IF RYAN KESLERcould float around the perimeter when he wasn’t feeling up to snuff. That’s just not how the Vancouver Canucks…
ROAD Warrior
YOUR FAVORITE CITY TO VISIT? Montreal’s a lot of fun to play in and it’s always nice to go down to Tampa Bay with the warm weather, so that’s another great city that I like to play in. YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT? I always go to a place in Boston called Mooo – it’s a steak house. They’ve got really good steaks and it’s a great pre-game meal. MUST-HAVE ITEM ON THE ROAD? Cell phone charger. It’s an important piece. CARDS, MOVIES, OR BOOKS? Set up the card table and play a game called Schnarples, a trump game between four or five of us. It makes the plane rides go quick. ANY MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM HECKLERS? Nothing of any substance. The opposing fans aren’t humorous enough. Just the same old “you suck!” Nothing too clever or worth getting a chuckle…
Undersized, Underrated
Skill is one thing that can’t be overlooked. It has nothing to do with how tall or heavy you are. If you have it in abundance, people notice. The next step is to prove you have so much skill you can make a career out of it in spite of other, shall we say, short-comings. This has been the story of Nikita Gusev. At 5-foot-9 and 163 pounds, he’s had a tough time convincing the Kontinental League’s CSKA Moscow to give him decent ice time. However, he was a leader on Russia’s 2012 national junior team, where he played on a line with Tampa Bay draftee Nikita Kucherov and Mikhail Grigorenko, one of 2012’s top NHL draft prospects. It’s the final year for the 19-year-old Gusev to get drafted and he hopes…
JASON SPEZZA
There was a time not too long ago when Jason Spezza and his high-flying buddies on the Ottawa Senators would just have to show up and there was a good chance they’d win games on the basis of sheer talent. Those were good times, they were. But so are these. There are moments when Spezza misses the days when the Senators would reel off 100 points and win play-off series in five games, barely breaking a sweat. But there’s a certain amount of satisfaction in the way both he and the Senators have transformed themselves. Ottawa has become a team that has forged its identity on the strength of its work ethic and esprit de corps, while Spezza has become a player much more willing to go to areas of the…
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