Whats not to like about Blackhawks Teuvo Teravaine
TAMPA, Fla. Full disclosure: A long-standing Teuvo Teravainen fan is working the keyboard right now."Fan," all told, probably isn't the ideal phrasing, but there's just something fun something likable about the Blackhawks' 21-year-old center, and that was obvious before he'd so much as played an NHL game. Part of it is the way he plays, and his reputation in that department preceded his arrival in Chicago; he's skilled and creative and unique, and everyone who cares about hockey should all root for skill, creativity and uniquene s.MORE: | Hes one of the most talented guys I see, watching him every day," Blackhawks winger Marian Ho sa said. Ho sa sees Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad every day. He also, presumably, looks in the mirror. An authority on talent, Marian Dale Hawerchuk Jersey Ho sa is.Teravainen also seems to have a way with words that can only come from a blend of innocence, honesty, humor and speaking English as your second language. .Sowhen Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville scratched Teravainen for Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, it was tough not to feel a little cheated, on both the "I like watching hockey personally" level and the "I speak with hockey players profe sionally" level.MORE: | | Since his night in the pre s box, though, and on both of those levels, Teravainen has made up for lost time. Wednesday night, after 43:28 of goal-le s hockey for Chicago, he got the Blackhawks on the board with a fluttering shot from the top of the circle that beat Lightning goalie Ben Bishop. It was his third goal of the playoffs, and a huge one for the Blackhawks; since a slow start, they'd dominated Tampa Mark Scheifele Jersey Bay in shots, scoring chances and puck po se sion with nothing to show for it."I thought he got better like our team did as the game went on," Quenneville said."In playoff hockey theres big swings in momentum. Sometimes the smallest plays can lead to that," Sharp, one of his linemates,said. "But I thought we played better once Teuvo scored that goal."Le s than two minutes later, Teravainen Jack Roslovic Jersey set up Antoine Vermette's game-winner when he knocked the puck away from Tampa Bay forward J.T. Brown and onto Vermette's stick.Vermette, like Teravainen, sat out Game 3. Since, they've often played together, and played well.Vermette, not coincidentally, also won Game 4 against the Ducks Cup-winning teams need secondary scoring, and the Blackhawks, again, are getting it from their third line."I think that was a great illustration on that goal with the way we try to play, try to establish our speed and moving our feet, especially in their end," Vermette said.Were those obvious displays of all that skill? Not really; one was a fluky shot, and the other was more about sticking with the play than anything else.That was fine, though. After Chicago's 2-1 win and relocated to a room down the hall from the claustrophobia-inducing Drew Stafford Jersey visitors'locker room at Amalie Arena, we got the Teuvo Experience. It was, indeed, delightful.Some relevant back story: Teravainen, good a quote as he may be, has not spoken to the media much lately. He says it himself: He's more comfortable on the ice than in front of cameras and recorders. That's understandable for any player, let alone one adjusting to life in a new country and young enough to have a set of playoff facial hairs you can count on your hand.On Wednesday, he didn't have a choice."When I scored the goal I think the first thing was, Oh, no, I have to go do media now," he said. He laughed, but it wasn't a just-kidding laugh."Are we that terrifying?" one writer asked."Yeah," Teravainen countered. "You are."And then he laughed again. This time, he was probably kidding a little.It wasn't all one-liners, though. He talked about the importance of his 39 games in the AHL, specifically with increasing his comfort level on North American ice, and said that the herky-jerky start to his NHL career he left Finland last year for five AHL games and three with the Blackhawks wasn't unexpected. He knew he'd have to be patient.I just try to be myself out there, and of course I get a lot of confidence for good things I do on the ice." he said. "I just have to stick with the good things and sometimes I make bad plays but I have to forget those and think with the good things."Ho sa sees that, too.Hes growing more confident every game," Ho sa said. "He doesnt seem to have a Shawn Matthias Jersey heartbeat. Hes so calm. Hes Finnish cold.See? Teravainen gets Marian Ho sa to say stuff like that. What's not to love?
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