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Dave Tippett is known for getting the most out of his players in the NHL, and hell be counted on to do the same as Team Canadas coach at the upcoming world championship. Tommy Kelly Womens Jersey . Tippett, whose Phoenix Coyotes narrowly missed the playoffs, was named to that post Wednesday and will be joined by assistants Peter DeBoer of the New Jersey Devils and Paul Maurice of the Winnipeg Jets. Itll be up to that staff to try to make the most of a roster that wont be as star-studded as the group that won gold at the Sochi Olympics. "Thats the exciting thing for me is to try to get players in, get them in roles and get them in situations where they can succeed at," Tippett said in a phone interview. "Thats always been our philosophy in Phoenix is we might not be a cap team, but we got players that can do jobs in certain areas and really excel at it. "Once the team gets settled in here well try to figure out where everybody kind of fits, but thats one of the challenges, whether youve got young players or veteran players or superstar players, is getting your group together and getting them all in situations where they can play well." This Canadian team will include David Perron of the Edmonton Oilers, Sean Monahan of the Calgary Flames, Morgan Rielly and James Reimer of the Toronto Maple Leafs, forwards Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers, Cody Hodgson of the Buffalo Sabres, and Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets, along with defenceman Jason Garrison of the Vancouver Canucks among already confirmed theyll go to Minsk, Belarus, for next months tournament. Five more players have accepted invitations to play for Team Canada at the World Championship, including forwards Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers, Cody Hodgson of the Buffalo Sabres, Nazem Kadri of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets, along with defenceman Jason Garrison of the Vancouver Canucks. There isnt Olympic experience there, but Jason Chimera of the Washington Capitals was there in 2007 when Canada last won gold at the world championship, and Reimer went 4-0 at the 2011 tournament. Tippett, from Moosomin, Sask., was an assistant coach in 2009 and 2013, and DeBoer, from Waterloo, Ont., was on staff in 2010 and 2011. Maurice, from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has experience with the bigger, international-sized ice surface from coaching in the KHL. Theres a certain style of play that has come to be expected from Tippett-coached teams. The ice means there are some adjustments, but dont anticipate that changing too much. "Theres some things that you have to be aware of: spacing and sometimes running around where youve got to be a little more position," Tippett said. "I think the Canadian teams that have done well over there have gone over and played a real simple, hard, Canadian style of hockey. Those are principles that we want to put into place." One challenge for Tippett is to do that with just a couple of days of practice in Zurich. "Youve got to get everybody on the same page as quick as you can," he said. "I know every Canadian team that goes over there, its about continuing to try to improve as the tournament moves on." Tippett wants to get a team mind-set in place right away. Dont be surprised if it mirrors what Team Canada did in February. "Were very fortunate," Tippett said. "We have a very good template just from a few months ago of the Olympic teams." The IIHF world hockey championship runs from May 9-25 in Minsk. Canada opens the event on May 9 against France (TSN, 9:30am et/6:30am pt). Kyle Arrington Patriots Jersey . Evan Oberg opened the scoring for the Wolves (31-17-6) 9:27 into the first period and Ty Rattie added an insurance goal at 12:17 of the third while Abbotsfords Shane OBrien was serving a double minor for high sticking. James White Patriots Jersey . The team has signed three-time Pro Bowl free safety Jairus Byrd to a six-year contract worth a reported $54 million with $28 million being guaranteed. DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche are back in the post-season. But they may have to move on without Matt Duchene. If Semyon Varlamov continues his breakout season, the Avalanche might not miss their leading scorer. Varlamov had a season-high 47 saves and Colorado clinched its first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Center John Mitchell had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who moved past Chicago into second place in the Central Division with 100 points in what might have been a costly victory. Duchene suffered a left knee injury on the opening shift Saturday when he collided with teammate Jamie McGinn near the Sharks blue line. He fell to the ice and then gingerly skated to the bench. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Sunday. "Well know more after that," coach Patrick Roy said. "Its not good news for him and its not good news for us. Its the way its been all year." Despite the injuries -- Colorado has lost top-six forwards Alex Tanguay and P.A. Parenteau -- the constant has been Varlamov. He came through again against the relentless Sharks, who threw 74 shots at him. Colorado blocked 25. "Im guessing he was the first star," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said of Varlamov. "He should be." Down a player, Varlamov made up for it with an outstanding performance. He stopped 20 shots in the third period, many during the final minutes when the Sharks were trying to get the equalizer. His 37 wins are the most in the NHL and a big reason the Avalanche reached 100 points for the first time in 10 years. "Hes been tremendous," captain Gabe Landeskog said. "I think its safe to say we wouldnt be here without him." Colorado was a mainstay in the playoffs when the franchise moved to Denver in 1995. After winning the Stanley Cup for a second time in 2001, the Avalanche reached the Western Conference finals the following season before heading into lean times. Now they have a chance to return to the glory years with a young, eager group. "Were certainly not satisfied with just squeaking into the playoffs, we want to do damage," Landeskog said. Mitchell moved upp to centre Colorados top line, and came through with a big power-play goal to give Colorado a 3-1 lead at 6:32 of the second period. Danny Amendola Jersey. "It came right to me slow enough so I could get a forehand shot and I just one-timed it into the back of the net," Mitchell said. "I was just at the right place at the right time." Paul Stastny and Cody McLeod also scored for Colorado. Varlamovs strong play beforehand helped Colorado maintain a 2-1 lead. The Sharks outshot the Avalanche 11-3 in the second, many of those coming early when they were trying to tie it. Joe Pavelski and Dan Boyle scored for the Sharks, who are 1-2-2 in their past five games but still hold a slim lead for first place in the Pacific over Anaheim. Goalie Alex Stalock had 19 saves for San Jose before being pulled for an extra attacker in the final minute. "I thought we played extremely well, thought we generated a lot of chances," Joe Thornton said. "Its just sometimes you dont win those types of games." Boyle cut the lead to 3-2 when he took a pass from James Sheppard and scored off Varlamovs left shoulder 2:03 after Mitchell. It was his 10th goal of the season. The Sharks got a chance to tie on a 4-on-3 power play after Ryan OReilly took his first penalty of the season, a minor for playing with a broken stick. Stastnys 26th goal 1:33 into the game gave Colorado a 1-0 lead. Pavelski tied it on the power play less than two minutes later with his 38th. The Sharks had another power-play chance midway through the first, but McLeod sneaked behind the defence, took a long pass from Nick Holden off Boyles glove and beat Stalock to give Colorado a 2-1 lead. "I took my eye off the puck for a fraction of a second to make sure I wasnt going to get drilled," Boyle said. "I just caught a piece of it and missed it. Thats an unfortunate bounce." NOTES: Mitchell returned to the lineup after missing four games with a back injury. ... The Sharks reassigned F Freddie Hamilton to Worcester of the AHL on Friday. ... McGinn played after skipping practice Friday. He took a shot off his foot in Thursdays win over Vancouver. ' ' ' |
