| Leaning on his crutches Calgary Flames T-Shirts Authentic , surgery on his right knee, Mikko Koivu was asked if he had concern about his ability to return to the Minnesota Wild next season at age 36.Just as if he were corralling a puck with a quick flick of his stick on a faceoff, Koivu didn’t flinch.“Yes, I’m totally confident. I think those are just numbers,” Koivu said. “I think it’s about your effort, the way you take care of yourself on and off the ice, and at the end, it’s going to be a battle. But if you’re strong enough, you’re going to be able to do it.”Koivu’s determination and strength has never been in doubt, but the torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus cartilage he suffered in a game at Buffalo on Feb. 5 has raised a question about the Wild captain’s future considering this major late-career injury. Koivu will enter the final year of his contract this summer, with a $5.5 million charge against the salary cap.Factoring in the typical ACL recovery timetable, the chance is slim that Koivu will be ready to join his teammates for on-ice drills at the start of training camp.“I think it’s too early to talk about it too much, but that’s definitely my goal,” Koivu said Thursday after the Wild’s practice Calgary Flames Hoodies Authentic , his first public comments since the collision with Sabres forward Tage Thompson .Receiving medical clearance for the 2019-20 season opener will be an additionally hefty challenge, but Koivu, who was drafted sixth overall in 2001 by the Wild out of Finland and has topped the franchise leaderboards in several statistical categories over his 14-year career, cast his familiar steely gaze toward the daunting rehabilitation that’s ahead.“It’s a fact that this knee will be stronger than I’ve ever experienced,” Koivu said. “The rest of it is up to me.”The Wild are just 1-4-2 this month and 1-3 without Koivu, currently clinging to the eighth and final postseason spot in the Western Conference . They host the New Jersey Devils on Friday night, the only team they’ve beaten in February.“We’re going to make the playoffs. That’s about as elaborate as I’m going to get,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “You want me to predict how many wins we’re going to have? Not going to happen. But we’re going to make the playoffs.”Joel Eriksson Ek has been a productive fill-in over the last four games, but Koivu’s absence requires more than simply replacing a second-line center.“In the locker room, outside the locker room. The little things of playing against every team’s top center, every faceoff that’s important, every time you need something,” Boudreau said. BOSTON (AP) — Panthers forward Troy Brouwer was the first to the puck as it rolled into the Boston zone, with three Bruins chasing helplessly behind him.He reared back for a slap shot Calgary Flames Hats Authentic , freezing Tuukka Rask as the goaltender ventured a bit too far out of the crease. Then Brouwer brought his stick back down to the ice and wristed the puck past Rask, high on the stick side, for a short-handed goal that restored Florida’s two-goal lead.“They had just cut the deficit to one goal and they were on the power play,” Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo said after Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Boston. “It was a huge momentum turn for our club to be able to get one short-handed and extend our lead back to two goals. I really never looked back after that.”Evgenii Dadonov scored twice, one of them an empty-netter, and Luongo stopped 30 shots to help the Panthers end the Bruins’ 12-game home winning streak, its longest since 2008-09. Riley Sheahan also scored for Florida, which has already been eliminated from playoff contention.“Unfortunately it doesn’t mean that much this time of year,” Luongo said. “But we’re all professionals in here and we play to win hockey games. It doesn’t matter what’s at stake, you always want to be on the winning side.”Noel Acciari scored and Rask made 19 saves for Boston, which has already clinched a playoff berth and entered the day tied with Calgary for the second-best record in the league. The Bruins will most likely open the postseason at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs.“We’re here to win games until we get locked in,” Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “What’s in front of us is second place. We’d like to get there.”The Bruins outshot the Panthers 16-8 in the first, but Sheahan and Dadonov scored about two minutes apart late in the period to give Florida a 2-0 lead heading into the break.“They were throwing everything at the net,” Luongo said. “I was able to get in the game early Custom Calgary Flames Jerseys , so I felt pretty good and guys rewarded me with two goals in the first and a huge short-handed goal in the second.”It was still 2-0 late in the second, when Acciari used a backhand swipe to beat Luongo and cut the deficit to one goal. But just 1:07 later, with the Bruins on their first power play of the game, Brouwer made it 3-1.Rask said he was slightly out of position because he had been tempted to go play the puck himself.“That’s one of those shots you’d like to save,” he said. “Especially in a 2-1 game.”Dadonov added an empty-netter with 2:19 left to clinch it.With 10 minutes left in the game, the Bruins had the puck behind Luongo before it was swept off the goal line by a defender. Luongo sprawled to the ice, losing his stick in the process, but Boston wasn’t able to get off a shot while he was out of position.NOTES: Boston hadn’t lost at home since January. … Bruins F Chris Wagner won the team’s 7th Player Award, selected by a fan vote, for exceeding the expectations of Bruins fans during the season. Wagner, who signed as a free agent last summer, has a career-high 12 goals and six assists. He leads the Bruins and is ninth in the NHL with 245 hits. … Florida will play its last three games of the season at home. … Bruins F Brad Marchand was so upset at a play in the second period he slammed his stick against the boards as he returned to the bench, sending the blade flying back toward center ice.UP NEXTPanthers: Host the Washington Capitals on Monday night.Bruins: Visit the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night. |
