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Team USA explains controversial Canada barrel after winning world juniors gold: 'No disrespect to anyone' – USA TODAY

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Jimmy Hascup
 
| USA TODAY

A United States-Canada matchup in hockey always comes with some extra passion. Make it a gold-medal game, and, well, bragging rights are on the line.

Team USA’s 2-0 victory against Canada on Tuesday for the world hockey championship drew some added emotion and controversy when the winners were shown taking a photo on Rogers Place ice during their celebration next to a barrel with the Hockey Canada logo on it.

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According to members of the team, the USA used a barrel throughout the tournament as their motivation tool and they meant no disrespect to the silver medalists to the north.

“We pretty much had a barrel for each team we were playing,” USA forward Trevor Zegras (Ducks) said in his post-game interview. “Each game we just wanted to get to the next barrel. Today was our last barrel. We threw the Canada sign up there, (put) it on the ice and took our picture. It was kind of our thing this tournament.”

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When asked about the significance, Zegras said that it was about “getting to the next barrel — not looking too far ahead, only looking to that game, the next opponent.”

After losing to Russia in its first game, the United States won six in a row to capture its fifth under-20 title and first since 2017, giving Canada, the 2020 winners who had not trailed in 2021, its first loss in the tournament.

Head coach Nate Leaman expanded on the meaning of the barrel in his post-game press conference. 

“It’s a story that when I was an assistant coach (with the USA at world juniors) in 2007, that (head coach) Ron Rolston brought to our team,” Leaman said. “About crossing the heart of the Sahara Desert, crossing a terrain that’s 500 miles long, that over 1,300 people had perished and the only way that they could figure to cross this part of the Sahara Desert was to put barrels out so that when you got to one barrel, the only thing you could see was the next barrel on the horizon. 

“I shared the story with the guys before the tournament, and let them know that we’re not going to talk about the gold medal. All we’re talking about is going one barrel at a time.”

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament was played without fans in Edmonton, Alberta. 

Goalie Spencer Knight (Panthers) made 34 saves for his third shutout of the tournament, while Zegras led the way with a goal and an assist, giving him seven goals and 11 assists for the tournament, the top-scoring mark. 

“It’s just a great image,” Leamon said. “It was a great way to get through this tough tournament — to just go one barrel at a time, stay in the process, and not get ahead of ourselves. Just focus on the next barrel.”

Leaman explained that there was a barrel in the locker room that included the logo of next team the USA was playing. It was a way of staying focused on the present. 

“We took a selfie in the locker room around the barrel after every win,” said Leaman who also reiterated it again on Twitter. “Every one of our wins, we have our team around the barrel in the locker room. … (Tonight) they got into the emotion of the celebration, they wanted to get the barrel on the ice. No disrespect to anyone, especially Canada, who played a great game today and obviously had a great team. it’s not disrespectful to them. I’m sure every team had something in the tournament that they rallied around, and ours was the barrel.”

Contributing: The Associated Press

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Canucks place goalie Thatcher Demko on long-term injured list – CBC.ca

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The Vancouver Canucks have placed all-star goalie Thatcher Demko on the long-term injured reserve list retroactively.

“It’s just cap related,” coach Rick Tocchet said after practice Wednesday. “We get some cap relief, that’s all it is.” 

The 28-year-old netminder has been considered week to week since being sidelined with a lower-body injury midway through Vancouver’s 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on March 9.

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That injury designation hasn’t changed, Tocchet said.

Demko boasts a 34-18-2 record this season, with a .917 save percentage, a 2.47 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Casey DeSmith has taken over the starting job for Vancouver, going 3-2-1 since Demko’s injury. He has a .899 save percentage on the season with a 2.73 goals-against average and one shutout. 

The earliest Demko could be back in the Canucks’ lineup is April 6 against the Kings in Los Angeles.

He’s expected to be a key piece as Vancouver (45-19-8) prepares for its first playoff appearance since the COVID-shortened 2019-20 campaign. 

Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin also announced Wednesday that the club has called up forward Arshdeep Bains from the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League. 

“I’d like to see where [Bains is] at,” Tocchet said, noting he isn’t sure whether the 23-year-old winger will slot into the lineup when the Canucks host the Dallas Stars on Thursday. 

WATCH | Bains makes NHL debut

Surrey, B.C.’s Arshdeep Bains makes Canucks debut

1 month ago

Duration 2:20

Arshdeep Bains from Surrey, B.C., has made his NHL debut with the Vancouver Canucks Tuesday night against the Colorado Avalanche. As CBC’s Joel Ballard reports, it’s been a hard-fought journey for the hometown kid to the big leagues.

Bains played five games for the NHL team in February before being sent back to Abbotsford. 

“He went down, he’s done a couple of things that we like, and he’s got some speed,” Tocchet said. 

Vancouver may get another forward back in the lineup Thursday. 

Dakota Joshua practised in a full-contact jersey on Wednesday for the first time since suffering an upper-body injury in Vancouver’s 4-2 win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on Feb. 13. 

The physical winger, who’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, has a career-high 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) this season.

Sitting out injured “hasn’t been fun,” Joshua said.

“It feels like forever,” he said. “But at this point, that’s behind me and I’m moving forward.”

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Senators score 5 in 1st, cruise past Sabres – NHL.com

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“I thought that we were ready to go,” Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. “We got some pucks at the net, we got people at the net. Took advantage of our opportunities and, I think, built a nice lead. And then I thought, in the third period, we continued again. Our goaltending was good. Made some key saves. But I thought we shut them down in the third period good.”

Shane Pinto had a goal and three assists, and Brady Tkachuk, Boris Katchouk, Jakob Chychrun and Drake Batherson each had a goal and an assist for the Senators (31-36-4), who have won three in a row. Korpisalo made 34 saves.

“If you want to win, you need balance,” Pinto said. “And we had that tonight and it’s going to be big for the back-to-back tomorrow (against the Chicago Blackhawks) to have that same thing. So, going to need all the guys on board.”

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JJ Peterka and Connor Clifton scored for the Sabres (34-34-5), who have lost four of six. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed four goals on nine shots before he was replaced by Devon Levi, who made 31 saves in relief.

“We wanted, I guess, to play as individuals,” Clifton said. “I’m disappointed we let ‘Upie’ down, he’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s kept us in so many games, and just to not show up and play that careless style, give them freebies all over the place. … Yeah, obviously, the first 20 really dictated the rest of the game.”

Artem Zub gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead at 2:37 of the first period. He stuffed in a loose puck on the goal line after Katchouk’s shot was redirected by Mark Kastelic between Luukkonen’s pads.

Katchouk made it 2-0 at 4:56, tipping Parker Kelly’s shot from the top of the right face-off circle past Luukkonen.

“It’s keeping the consistency with good effort, right habits,” Katchouk said. “The small things matter so much in this game. And obviously, it worked out tonight with the tip. But kudos to my linemates. ‘Kels’ and ‘Kassy,’ they worked hard to get the puck as well. Those two battle hard every night as well. We feed off each other, and it’s good to play with them.”

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Vasilevskiy stops 23 as surging Lightning beat Bruins – Sportsnet.ca

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