|
SOCHI, Russia -- Martin St. jerseys from china . Louis is going to get a chance to represent his country at the Winter Olympics after all. Hockey Canada announced today that the 38-year-old Tampa Bay forward will replace injured Lightning teammate Steven Stamkos on Canadas mens hockey team at the Sochi Olympics. "I heard from Stammer that he wasnt going to go, so I knew it was a possibility," St. Louis told reporters in Tampa on Thursday. "So I guess I was prepared for it." St. Louis said he felt bad for Stamkos, who tried hard to come back from a broken right tibia he suffered in a Nov. 11 NHL game before being ruled out of Olympic competition by the Lightnings medical staff on Wednesday. "I think weve got to understand how hard hes tried and worked to put himself in the position hes in and give himself a chance," St. Louis said. "Obviously hes disappointed and Im disappointed for him. Stammers a true professional and hes done everything he can this past month to get back to the lightning first and hopefully to Team Canada." St. Louis was considered one of Canadas most surprising snubs when Canadas team was first announced, along with Philadelphia forward Claude Giroux and Pittsburgh forward James Neal. The Laval, Que., native led the league in points in the 2012-13 shortened season with 17 goals and 43 assists in 48 games. He is having another strong campaign in 2013-14 with 54 points (25 goals, 29 assists) in 56 games, good for 11th in the league. "I dont see this as Marty replacing me, I see it as Marty deserving a spot on this team and going over and hopefully bringing back a gold medal," said Stamkos in the same news conference. St. Louis has won two World Championship silver medals for Canada over his career. He played in the 2006 Turin Olympics, scoring two goals and an assist in Canadas disappointing seventh-place finish. St. Louis went on a 10-game point streak (eight goals, six assists) for the Lightning after first being left off Canadas team, announced on Jan. 7. He said the snub had nothing to do with his increased production, but his play of late might have given him the edge over Giroux and Neal. "I dont think its motivation. Ive been motivated the past four years ... the past 10 years. If youre not motivated, youre not even considered for these things. His speed could be a benefit to Canada, which has struggled in the Olympics when playing on the larger international ice surface. Canada won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 and in Vancouver in 2010 playing in NHL-style arenas, but was left off the podium in Nagano, Japan in 1998 and Turin, Italy in 2006. "Obviously its a bigger ice surface. It think my quickness, my speed ... thats what Im going to rely on," St. Louis said. "Its a different game, but I think whatever game plan we come up with, its going to be well thought-out." Stamkos is confident that his teammate can fill any position on Team Canada. "Hes going to go over there and play whatever role possible. I personally think hes going to play a big role," said Stamkos. "The character that he has, the way hes played in big-game situations in the past. I mean, hes won individual awards, hes won the team championships, hes been in those situations. "Its not like its a young guy thats never been in these situations before filling in for someone. This is a guy who can step in and play any role asked."cheap jerseys . The 24-year-old piloted the No.06 Sprott Inc. Newman/Haas Racing entry to nine top-ten finishes, including three season-best fourth-place finishes, all on wildly different tracks - at Long Beach (street course), New Hampshire Motor Speedway (short oval) and Kentucky Speedway (1. cheap nfl jerseys . This week, topics cover if and when the Blue Jays should start rebuilding, how good catchers handle a pitching staff and how best to develop young pitchers to best avoid arm problems.ERIE, Pa. -- Connor Brown scored two goals and Connor McDavid had five assists to lead the Erie Otters over the London Knights 7-2 in Ontario Hockey League action on Saturday. Adam Pelech had a goal and two assists for Erie (41-10-2), while Andre Burakovsky, Joel Wigle, Dane Fox, and Curtis Michael rounded out the Otters offence. Devin Williams made 23 saves. Alex Basso scored and Brady Austin added a power-play goal for London (35-12-5). Jake Patterson started in net for the Knights, but was replaced after giving up six goals on 18 shots through 30:16. Justin Tugwell made 12 saves on 18 shots in relief. --- WOLVES 7 ICE DOGS 1 ST. CATHARINES, Ont. -- Nicholas Baptiste scored twice and added an assist as the Wolves toppled Niagara. Connor Crisp scored once and assisted on two more, Matthew Campagna had a goal and an assist, and Dominik Kahun, Matt Schmalz, and Nathan Pancel added single goals for Sudbury (28-16-8), which was 2 for 5 on the power play. Jordan Maletta tapped in a power-play goal, giving Niagara (18-28-7) a short-lived 1-0 lead at 11:44 of the first period. Sudburys Troy Timpano stopped 25 shots for the victory, while Brent Moran made 28 saves for Niagara. --- BULLS 4 STING 3 BELLEVILLE, Ont. -- Jordan Subban scored his 11th goal of the season with 32 seconds left to lift the Bulls over the Sting. Stephen Harper had a goal and two assists, Cameron Brace had a goal and one assist, and Chad Heffernan also scored for Belleville (15-33-4), which had a 3-0 lead before Sarnia stormed back to tie the game. Noah Bushnell, Nickolas Latta, and David Nikandrov scored for the Sting (16-31-6), who was outshot 41-26. Charlie Graham stopped 23 shots for Belleville, while Sarnias Taylor Dupuis made 37 saves in the losing effort. --- WHALERS 5 BATTALION 1 PLYMOUTH, Mich. -- Alex Nedeljkovic made 52 saves and the Whalers downed North Bay on goals from five different skaters. Matt Mistele scored a goal and assisted on two more, Connor Chatham had a goal and one assist, and Carter Sandlak, Yannick Rathgeb and Gianluca Curcuruto also scored for Plymouth (20-277-5). wholesale jerseys. . Francesco Vilardi chipped in with three assists. Ben Thomson was the lone goal scorer for North Bay (28-19-6), who outshot their opponents 53-31. Jake Smith started in net for the Battalion but was replaced after giving up five goals on 28 shots through 50:26. Brendan ONeill stopped all three shots he faced in relief. --- GREYHOUNDS 6 SPIRIT 5 SAGINAW, Mich. -- Tyler Gaudet scored two goals as Sault Ste. Marie snapped its three-game slide with a win over the Spirit. Jared McCann and Alex Gudbranson had a goal and an assist apiece for the West division-leading Greyhounds (36-14-5), and Tyler Ganly and Trent Mallette also scored. Sergey Tolchinsky and Jean Dupuy chipped in with three assists each, as Sault Ste. Marie outshot the Spirit 41-24. Luke Cairns scored twice and Nick Moutrey also scored for Saginaw (25-24-5). Dylan Sadowy and Eric Locke both chipped in with short-handed goals, with Locke also picking up two assists on the night. Matt Murray made 19 saves in the Greyhounds win. Saginaws Jake Paterson stopped 35 shots in the losing effort. --- COLTS 7 67s 3 BARRIE, Ont. -- Mackenzie Blackwood made 28 saves and seven Colts skaters scored single goals to lift Barrie over Ottawa. Tyson Fawcett scored once and assisted on two more for Barrie (26-22-3) as Brendan Lemieux, Andreas Athanasiou, Aaron Ekblad, Garrett Hooey, and Andrew Mangiapane had a goal and an assist apiece. Justin Scott added a single goal. Erick Bradford had two goals for Ottawa (18-30-4), while Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist. Liam Herbst made 37 saves for the 67s, who were outshot 44-31. --- RANGERS 2 ATTACK 1 (SO) OWEN SOUND, Ont. -- Justin Bailey scored in a shootout as the Rangers edged the Attack. Ryan MacInnis scored a power-play goal in regulation time for Kitchener (18-32-2). Kyle Hope was the lone goal scorer for Owen Sound (23-22-7), who lost for the seventh time in the last 10 games. Jordan DeKort made 31 saves through overtime and three more in the shootout for Kitchener, while Owen Sounds Brandon Hope was saddled with the loss. cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
