SWEDEN: HOCKEY - NHL teams New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings practice ahead of their season opener in Stockholm

Record ID: 569824

  • Title: SWEDEN: HOCKEY - NHL teams New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings practice ahead of their season opener in Stockholm
  • Date: 7th October 2011
  • Summary: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (OCTOBER 6, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF NEW YORKS RANGERS IN PRACTICE ON ICE GOAL TENDER HENRIK LUNDQVIST WITH TEAM-MATES RINKSIDE (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK RANGERS GOALTENDER HENRIK LUNDQVIST SAYING: "It feels really good I've been in Stockholm now for a couple of days, getting ready for the season and I think we're all really excited to start th
  • Embargoed: 22nd October 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Sweden, Sweden
  • Country: Sweden
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA7GNNCANGRTFO1RWVGUKR5CDWU
  • Story Text: The New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings were training on Thursday (October 6) ahead of their 2011-12 National Hockey League (NHL) season premiere at the Stockholm Globe arena on Friday (October 7).
    Issues like hits to the head, player safety and the financial health of several franchises will grab some of the early-season headlines while negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement and whether to commit to the 2014 Sochi Winter Games will creep into the hockey discussion.
    But the NHL will put these nagging distractions aside to celebrate the new season in grand style with games on both sides of the Atlantic as the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers open their campaigns on European ice with games in Berlin, Helsinki and Stockholm.
    The New York Ranger's Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was happy to be in his home country and was looking forward to the start of the season on Friday.
    "It feels really good I've been in Stockholm now for a couple of days, getting ready for the season and I think we're all really excited to start the season. It's been a really busy pre-season. A lot of travelling, playing a lot of games but we're finally here so I'm really excited," he said after a training session.
    He said he hoped his team would have a good year.
    "You know, we're going to try and play the same way but we have a young team and the young guys are obviously one year older and more mature and I think that's going to help us as a club and like I said, pretty much the same. You add a couple of really good guys so we're going to put more pressure on ourselves to perform better and hopefully have a really good year," he said.
    Los Angeles King's forward Anze Kopitar was equally optimistic and said the team spirit was good.
    "The spirit is really good, we have been on the road for quite a bit and you know it is nice when the team comes together before the start of the season and obviously gets the spirit up and getting ready for the season," he said after his team had a training, adding that winning the Stanley Cup was their goal.
    "Well, our expectations are actually pretty high. You know we have made the playoffs the last couple of years but we got knocked out in the first round so now we want to take the next step and obviously go further and you know we want to obviously win the Stanley Cup. That is our goal and that is what we are shooting for," Kopitar said.
    As a new season begins, Vancouver is still recovering from a crushing Game Seven loss to Boston in last season's Stanley Cup final.
    The Canucks, led by high-scoring Swedish twins Henrik and Daniel Sedin, have the talent to once again be the class of the Western Conference.
    The 2010 Stanley Cup champions Chicago Blackhawks, the Detroit Red Wings, the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks will push the Canucks for top spot.
    In the East, the Bruins will try to become the first team since the 1997-1998 Red Wings to hoist back-to-back Stanley Cups while the Buffalo Sabres and New York Rangers will look to cash in.
    Even without Sidney Crosby the Penguins have enough quality to challenge for the Stanley Cup but the talent-packed Washington Capitals, led by Russian sniper Alexander Ovechkin, are many pundits' pick to win the East.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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