Evening World Cup Roster Announcements

Team Europe

Forwards: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (PHI), Mikkel Boedker (COL), Leon Draisaitl (EDM), Marian Gaborik (LA), Jannik Hansen (VAN), Marian Hossa (CHI), Anze Kopitar (LA), Nino Niederreiter (MIN), Frans Nielsen (NYI), Tobias Rieder (ARI), Tomas Tatar (DET), Thomas Vanek (MIN), Mats Zuccarello (NYR)

Defensemen: Zdeno Chara (BOS), Christian Ehrhoff (CHI), Roman Josi (NSH), Dennis Seidenberg (BOS), Andrej Sekera (EDM), Luca Sbisa (VAN), Mark Streit (PHI)

Goalies: Frederik Andersen (ANA), Thomas Greiss (NYI), Jaroslav Halak (NYI)

Team USA

Forwards: Justin Abdelkader (DET), David Backes (STL), Ryan Callahan (TB), Brandon Dubinsky (CBJ), Patrick Kane (CHI), Ryan Kesler (ANA), T.J. Oshie (WSH), Max Pacioretty (MTL), Zach Parise (MIN), Joe Pavelski (SJ), Derek Stepan (NYR), James van Riemsdyk (TOR), Blake Wheeler (WPG)

Defensemen: Dustin Byfuglien (WPG), John Carlson (WSH), Erik Johnson (COL), Jack Johnson (CBJ), Ryan McDonagh (NYR), Matt Niskanen (WSH), Ryan Suter (MIN)

Goalies: Ben Bishop (TB), Jonathan Quick (LA), Cory Schneider (NJ)

Team Canada

Forwards: Jamie Benn (DAL), Patrice Bergeron (BOS), Jeff Carter (LA), Sidney Crosby (PIT), Matt Duchene (COL), Ryan Getzlaf (ANA), Claude Giroux (PHI), Brad Marchand (BOS), Tyler Seguin (DAL), Steven Stamkos (TB), John Tavares (NYI), Jonathan Toews (CHI), Joe Thornton (SJ)

Defensemen: Brent Burns (SJ), Drew Doughty (LA), Duncan Keith (CHI), Jake Muzzin (LA), Alex Pietrangelo (STL), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (SJ), Shea Weber (NSH)

Goalies: Corey Crawford (CHI), Braden Holtby (WSH), Carey Price (MTL)

Team North America

Forwards: Mark Scheifele (WPG), Brandon Saad (CBJ), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM), Sean Monahan (CGY), J.T. Miller (NYR), Connor McDavid (EDM), Nathan MacKinnon (COL), Auston Matthews (ZSC Lions, Swiss National League A), Dylan Larkin (DET), Johnny Gaudreau (CGY), Jack Eichel (BUF), Jonathan Drouin (TB), Sean Couturier (PHI)

Defensemen: Jacob Trouba (WPG), Morgan Rielly (TOR), Colton Parayko (STL), Ryan Murray (CBJ), Seth Jones (CBJ), Shayne Gostisbehere (PHI), Aaron Ekblad (FLA)

Goalies: Matt Murray (PIT), Connor Hellebuyck (Manitoba Moose & WPG), John Gibson (ANA)

May 26 Recap

Penguins Defeat Lightning, Will Face Sharks in Final

         Last night, the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Penguins have reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since their 2009 championship. Last night’s game was both entertaining and full of surprises.

         The first surprise was the return of Steven Stamkos, who hadn’t played since March 31^st. He finished with 2 shots and 2 hits in 11:55 of ice time. The second surprise of the night was unlikely hero Bryan Rust, who scored both goals for Pittsburgh. The 24-year-old was the first rookie to score 2 goals in a game 7 since Adam Henrique in 2012.

         The 1^st period was tight and scoreless, with neither team being able to gain the upper hand. The Penguins increased their energy at 1:55 of the 2^nd period, when Bryan Rust scored off a well-placed shot over Vasilevskiy’s glove. Johnathan Drouin tied the game at 9:36 on a brilliant individual effort when he sniped a shot past Murray’s glove.

         The Penguins responded 30 seconds later when Bryan Rust scored a Joe Louis-style goal. Ben Lovejoy’s shot rattled off the back-boards and landed at the side of the net, where the waiting Rust tucked it in behind Vasilevskiy at the far post. The most baffling stat of the 2^nd period was the shots on goal. Pittsburgh had outshot Tampa 21-5. At this point, rookie goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was the reason the game was still close.

         Though the 3^rd period was scoreless, things got very interesting in the final minutes. The Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy for an extra attacker with 1:08 remaining in the game. With 5 seconds left, it looked like Carl Hagelin had sealed the deal when he shot the puck into the empty net. However, it was determined that Pittsburgh’s clearing attempt had deflected off of Ben Lovejoy, who was sitting on the bench. This caused the goal to be disallowed, and a faceoff inside the Pittsburgh zone with 10 seconds on the clock. The Lightning, however, could not gain possession, as the Penguins were able to hold the puck along the wall until time expired.

         The Eastern Conference Finals turned out to be a very thrilling series between two very good teams. It seems appropriate that it went 7 games. The series ended with the Penguins winning the Eastern Conference. They will now face the San Jose Sharks in the Stanley Cup Final. Unlike the Sharks with the Clarence Campbell Cup, the Penguins accepted and touched the Prince of Wales Trophy. The Stanley Cup Final begins on May 30 with game 1 in Pittsburgh.

World Cup Rosters Announced

Team Finland

Forwards: Sebastian Aho (Karpat, FIN), Aleksander Barkov (FLA), Joonas Donskoi (SJ), Valtteri Filppula (TB), Mikael Granlund (MIN), Erik Haula (MIN), Jussi Jokinen (FLA), Mikko Koivu (MIN), Leo Komarov (TOR), Lauri Korpikoski (EDM), Patrik Laine (Tampere, FIN), Jori Lehtera (STL), Teuvo Teravainen (CHI)

Defensemen: Jyrki Jokipakka (CGY), Sami Lepisto (Salavat Yulaev Ufa, KHL), Esa Lindell (DAL), Olli Maatta (PIT), Ville Pokka (CHI), Rasmus Ristolainen (BUF), Sami Vatanen (ANA)

Goalies: Mikko Koskinen (SKA St. Petersburg, KHL), Tuukka Rask (BOS), Pekka Rinne (NSH)

Team Czech Republic

Forwards: Radek Faksa (DAL), Martin Hanzal (ARI), Ales Hemsky (DAL), Tomas Hertl (SJ), Dmitrij Jaskin (STL), David Krejci (BOS), Milan Michalek (TOR), Ondrej Palat (TB), David Pastrnak (BOS), Tomas Plekanec (MTL), Vladimir Sobotka (Avangard Omsk, KHL), Jakub Voracek (PHI)

Defensemen: Radko Gudas (PHI), Michal Jordan (CAR), Michal Kempny (CHI), Zbynek Michalek (ARI), Jakub Nakladal (CGY), Roman Polak (SJ), Andrej Sustr (TB)

Goalies: Petr Mrazek (DET), Michal Neuvirth (PHI), Ondrej Pavelec (WPG)

Team Russia

Forwards: Artem Anisimov (CHI), Evgeny Dadonov (SKA St. Petersburg, KHL), Pavel Datsyuk (DET), Nikita Kucherov (TB), Nikolay Kulemin (NYI), Evgeny Kuznetsov (WSH), Evgeni Malkin (PIT), Vladislav Namestnikov (TB), Alex Ovechkin (WSH), Artemi Panarin (CHI), Vadim Shipachyov (SKA St. Petersburg, KHL), Ivan Telegin (CSKA Moscow, KHL), Vladimir Tarasenko (STL)

Defensemen: Alexei Emelin (MTL), Dmitry Kulikov (FLA), Alexey Marchenko (DET), Andrei Markov (MTL), Dmitry Orlov (WSH), Slava Voynov (SKA St. Petersburg, KHL), Nikita Zaitsev (TOR)

Goalies: Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ), Semyon Varlamov (COL), Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB)

Team Sweden

Forwards: Niklas Backstrom (WSH), Loui Eriksson (BOS), Filip Forsberg (NSH), Patric Hornqvist (PIT), Carl Hagelin (PIT), Marcus Kruger (CHI), Gabriel Landeskog (COL), Daniel Sedin (VAN), Jakob Silfverberg (ANA), Carl Soderberg (COL), Alexander Steen (STL), Henrik Zetterberg (DET)

Defensemen: Mattias Ekholm (NSH), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (ARI), Victor Hedman (TB), Niklas Hjalmarsson (CHI), Erik Karlsson (OTT), Niklas Kronwall (DET), Anton Stralman (TB)

Goalies: Robin Lehner (BUF), Henrik Lundqvist (NYR), Jacob Markstrom (VAN)

Team Europe: Announcement at 6:09 PM

Team USA: Announcement at 6:13 PM

Team North America: Announcement at 6:16 PM

Team Canada: Announcement at 6:22 PM