Apologies for not keeping more tabs on the 2011 IIHF World Championships. Since the New Jersey Devils didn't make the playoffs, several players have been playing in Slovakia representing their nation in the annual international tournament.   Today, the Quarterfinals have concluded with a big tilt between Russia and Canada.  You may not care much about the WCs, but the longstanding Russia-Canada rivalry is always good for exciting action. Both teams featured many talented NHL players, including Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk.

If the headline didn't clue you in, Russia defeated Canada in a close and exciting (the game report on the IIHF website called it a game worthy of gold) 2-1 game with the game winner coming from your friend and mine, Kovalchuk.  The goal itself was Kovalchuk's first in the tournament, but undoubtedly one of the biggest.  After the jump is a video I found of his eventual winning shot - something you should see if only because goals by Kovalchuk are generally worth watching.  I've also included other notes about the other Devils in the tournament so far.  For general international hockey coverage, please check out Bruce Peter's Puck Worlds.

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The 2010 IIHF World Championships had their gold medal final today.  Russia was on a mission for redemption after their worst ever showing at the Winter Olympics in men's ice hockey.  They wanted that third straight gold medal, and so Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Seymon Varlamov, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Pavel Datsyuk all joined the Russian roster to ensure it.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. Tomas Vokoun was a wall for most of the game, and the Czech Republic defeated Russia 2-1 to win their first gold medal since 2005, their first medal of any kind since 2006. Needless to say, I don't think many of the Russian players or the supporters are satisfied with just a silver medal. Even if they are now first in the IIHF's world rankings.

Kovalchuk shouldn't feel too bad about his own performance.  While the IIHF directorate named his teammate Datsyuk the best forward of the tournament and the media snubbed him for their all-stars, Kovalchuk led the World Championships in points with 2 goals and 10 assists along with 15 shots and an average ice time of 16:52. So much for Kovalchuk being a selfish player.  The coaches named him Russia's best forward. He certainly made his mark.  All stats are viewable at the IIHF's statistics page which has all this information in PDFs for some inexplicable reason.

As for the other New Jersey Devil at the tournament, well, it didn't go so well for Andy Greene.  The United States sent a young (read: weak) team and didn't even win one game in the group stages. They actually were sent to the relegation round, where wins over Kazakhstan,France, and Italy (by a shootout).  So the US will remain in the WCs for 2011, and without an Olympics, you can be sure USA Hockey will take it incredibly seriously.  Greene only had 2 assists, 4 shots, and averaged only 14:48, the fifth most out of all defensemen.  Yes, less than Matt Greene and Mike Lundin.  Still, he represented his country for the first time, and so it can't be seen as a total loss.

Anyway, after the jump, I found a highlight video that a fan made of the final game.  It shows that even championship games can be decided by just a bad bounce.   Feel free to mute the music if you don't care for it.

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Earlier, I noted that Andy Greene has accepted an invite to play for the United States in the 2010 IIHF World Championships.  It'll be his first time as a professional representing his nation, a great reward to a great 2009-10.

Greene will not be the only Devil to represent his nation in this tournament.  According to the Devils' official website, Ilya Kovalchuk will also be going to Germany to represent Russia in the World Championships.

If he performs anything like he did in the 2008 and 2009 World Championships, Russia should have a fantastic shot at winning a third straight gold medal at the World Championships.  Kovalchuk scored the game winning goal in 2008 in the gold medal final, capping off a 2 goal, 6 assist performance in 8 games.  In 2009, Kovalchuk was named tournament MVP as he went out and put up 5 goals and 9 assists in 9 games en route to a second straight gold medal for Russia.  He knows what to expect and has had serious success recently at this tournament; look for him to make a huge impact.  Look for his agent and his potential suitors to hope he does well and doesn't get hurt.

Add Russia's disappointing 2010 Winter Olympics -  6th place, worst ever finish at the Olympics - to the mix and I would have to think Russia will be especially motivated to succeed in the 2010 World Championships.  On top of that, the Russian roster will feature Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Frolov, and Alexander Semin among others; a definite infusion of firepower to the Russian roster.

Unfortunately, Anssi Salmela will not be able to represent Finland.  According to his agent, Jay Grossman, he hurt his knee at the LG Games - a short annual international tournament between Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic, and Russia.  Tom Gulitti confirmed the news at Fire & Ice and reports that Salmela will come to New Jersey for further treatment.  Terrible news, especially since it came from just the skate hitting a rut in the ice.  He's represented Finland before, and missing out on a chance to do it again due to injury (especially while representing your country) is just unfortunate. Hopefully, it's not too serious of an injury and he'll recover.

The 2010 IIHF World Championships will begin on Friday, May 7 in Gelsenkirchen, as the US will take on Germany. Follow the stats from the tournament at the IIHF's own 2010 WC statistics page - it's bare now but soon it'll be filled with links to unwieldy PDF files of everything.   I'm not sure what the television coverage will be, but per the Wikipedia site apparently Universal Sports has the US rights and TSN has the Canadian rights.  I'll put up daily FanShot chats for both WC and Playoff discussion every day regardless.

How do you think Greene and Kovalchuk will do in the WCs?   Does it suck that the only other Devils in the system still playing hockey are prospects Alexander Urbom, Harry Young, and Adam Henrique in the Memorial Cup? (Yeah, it does.)  Do you think Russia will win their third straight WCs?  Let me know in the comments.

1. Zach Parise, LW, USA (Silver Medal) - Parise was named by the media to the Olympics' all-star team, and it's entirely deserved.  He led the Americans with 4 goals and 4 assists; only Marian Hossa and Pavol Demitra put up more points in the entire Olympics Parise played an average of 17:03 per game and recorded 20 shots on goal; only Patrick Kane put up more shots with 22.  On top of that, Parise took no penalties, scored 2 power play goals,  scored 2 game winning goals, and 1 incredibly clutch equalizing goal in the gold medal final against Canada.  While losing that game in overtime was hugely disappointing, he did earn his silver medal and became a hero in the eyes of the millions of Americans who watched on Sunday.  Devils marketing and management, if you're reading this, you need to promote him.  He's guaranteed his superstar status in Vancouver.  Americans who want to see more of Parise, go to Devils games and/or watch them on TV.  You will love him like Devils fans do.

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The nation finished third in total medals, but Canada went on to win in both women's and men's ice hockey.  Today, the Canadian men's ice hockey team finished off the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in dramatic fashion. Jarome Iginla on the right sideboards passed it up to Sidney Crosby, who shot the puck through American goaltender Ryan Miller in overtime seal Canada's eighth gold medal in men's ice hockey (second since 1956). Here is the official boxscore from the official 2010 Vancouver Olympics website.  Given how the game went, it warrants further commentary about both teams.

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Welcome to the final day of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  It was a long and hard-fought hockey tournament.  On the women's side, the Canadians prevailed over the Americans 2-0 in the gold medal final, thanks largely in part to Marie-Philip Poulin and goaltender Shannon Szabados.   On the men's side, Canada fought back from the qualification round to win three straight to make it to the gold medal game; whereas the American men have went undefeated throughout the tournament to get this far.

I will admit that while I certainly do hope that the United States wins the gold medal, I am proud of the fact that they got this far. Sure, in the short term, I won't be pleased that they lost; but did many even think they'd get this far?  No, the team was considered to be good, but not as great as Russia, Sweden, and especially Canada.  In fact, per Puck Daddy, the NHLPA scheduled flights back for the American players early on Sunday - not thinking they could be in the gold medal game. Yet, this team already beat Canada once and have avoided Russia and Sweden by winning what games they had. Yet, here they are.  I am glad to be wrong on second guessing Brian Burke's and USA Hockey's selections. Jack Johnson and Chris Drury have been useful, as have the whole roster. Short of Ryan Whitney, who has been played so little that it's not his fault, is there anyone on this team who hasn't contributed in some way?  Quite frankly, this is a very good team; this is not a miracle.  I repeat, THIS IS NOT A MIRACLE.

As for Canada, congratulations for getting this far when it looked bleak early.  Sure, one could argue that the playoff rounds weren't exactly challenging save for the final 9 minutes against Slovakia.  Nevertheless, it's all about results and you are where you were expected to be ever since the games were announced. This is not only a chance to get revenge over the Americans who beat you last weekend, but to end the games on a high note with a gold medal as Canada's "owning of the podium" has led them to third overall (behind Germany and, look at that, the United States of America). 

Today is the final day of the Olympics. The Olympic break will officially end at midnight when rosters are unfrozen, trades will be made as the trade deadline looms in the distance, plans will be made for games to begin again on Tuesday (for most teams), and the focus will return to the usually-hectic March and April months in the NHL season.

Please use this post to place all your comments about the men's ice hockey final between the U.S. and Canada.  If you feel so inclined, SBNation.com has a GameThread up for this game.

February 28, 2010 - Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal Match

3:15 PM EST/12:15 PM PST - United States of America vs. Canada (NBC)

Want to watch the games online and legally? For the Americans, NBC has streaming options. For the Canadians, CTV has streams.  Thanks to user C.J.Richey121 for the NBC information and to user dchoubak about CTV.   This game is live across the U.S. and coverage will begin at 3 PM EST/12 PM PST.

No one walks into an Olympic tourney saying "Yeah baby, we're gonna' take Bronze!," however, a medal is a medal, and you can bet neither Finland or Slovakia will take this chance for granted.  No Devils in this one, so a chance to watch on completely unbiased terms, unless you're Finnish or Slovakian.

Please use this post to place all your comments about the game (and just this game, not any other events).  

February 27, 2010 - Men's Ice Hockey Bronze Medal Match

10:00 PM EST/7:00 PM PST - Slovakia vs. Finland (MSNBC)

Want to watch the games online and legally? For the Americans, NBC has streaming options. For the Canadians, CTV has streams.  Thanks to user C.J.Richey121 for the NBC information and to user dchoubak about CTV.   Read on for some Real Talk for each of the four teams going into this event.

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Fifty years ago, the United States men’s national team won their first Olympic gold medal in ice hockey. American Olympic success in men’s ice hockey for many people begins and ends in 1980 with that legendary win over the Soviet Union – the Miracle on Ice. Many don’t even realize that the U.S. won the gold in hockey at the 1960 Winter Olympics. In fact, many don’t even realize that the U.S. didn’t even win the gold in 1980 by beating the Soviet Union – they had to beat Finland too. At most, the U.S. 1960 Olympic hockey team is just listed in the record books as the winners of the 1960 gold medal. Many don’t realize how tremendous that win was, what the team did prior to 1960, and the circumstances the team went through in winning the gold.

Thankfully, a 65 minute documentary by Golden Puck Pictures in association with USA Hockey and the United States Olympic Committee is available to fill in that void of recognition: Forgotten Miracle. Sure, there have been articles written about the 1960 U.S. team, like this excellent one by Kevin Allen at ESPN Classic and this 1999 article by E.M. Swift - who was in the documentary - at SI.  Yet, this documentary really captures how the U.S. national team performed and succeeded in Squaw Valley in 1960 with plenty of interviews and commentary by the players from that team.  That alone makes the documentary important.  If you have even a passing interest in U.S. hockey history, then I would recommend checking out this documentary.

Back in December (and as full disclosure), I got a message from the directors promoting the movie.  I requested a review copy, but I waited until the Olympics to properly give my opinion on it as international hockey is fresh on the minds of many hockey fans. I thank the directors, Tommy Haines and Andrew Sherburne for sending me a DVD copy of the film for this purpose.  You can learn more about the movie, as well as purchase it, at the official website.

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