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Dallas Stars Daily Links: Antoine Roussel Goes All Antoine Roussel in France’s 5-1 Victory Over Finland

Posted on by Kathleen Tibbetts

France made history yesterday, and Antoine Roussel played a big part just by being the player Dallas Stars fans have come to know and love.

Behold the stat lines:

Leave it to “skilled agitator” Roussel to lead the charge. He scored two goals, including the GWG in the second period:

“We were in good spirits the whole game,” said Roussel. “We kept it simple and took care of the small details today. Everyone worked hard. We have to keep this mentality going if we want to keep winning games.”

The victory over Finland was historic for France, for more than one reason:

Previously, France had lost eight straight games to Finland, dating back to 1993. But the French are defeating more top nations in recent years. They also edged Canada 3-2 in a shootout to open the 2014 tournament in Belarus.

This is a huge boost for France’s quarter-final hopes. The win was particularly impressive since France played without forward Stephane Da Costa, who scored both French goals in the opening 3-2 loss to Norway but is battling the flu. The Finns went without captain Lasse Kukkonen, who has a hand injury and has returned to Finland for evaluation.

Find a full recap here. [IIHF]

Rous also discussed how France co-hosting the tournament (with Germany) might help raise interest in the game in this non-traditional hockey market. [Dallas Stars]

Oh, and there’s this:

Julius Honka, who had 19:38 minutes of ice time for Finland during the game, talked to the home media afterward: “We have to play better. It is very simple.” [Yle Sport]

You can catch up on Stars action at the Worlds so far with Sean Shapiro, who also provides info on your chance to see John Klingberg play for the Tre Kronor. [Wrong Side of the Red Line]

Klingberg and Sweden will take on the United States at 1:15 p.m. CT Monday in Cologne. The game will be broadcast live on the NHL Network and will be replayed at approximately 11 p.m. on NBCSN.

Don’t forget: Mike Heika holds his weekly Stars chat today at 2 p.m. Central time. It may not be too late to submit your questions. [SportsDayDFW]

Yesterday, in the Stanley Cup playoffs:

  • For the first time in history, the Nashville Predators advanced to the conference final, with the help of Pekka Rinne and Ryan Johansen, in a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. [On the Forecheck]
  • Elsewhere, the Edmonton Oilers scored fives times in the first period and Leon Draisaitl netted a hat trick as the Anaheim Ducks decided to keep it interesting with a 7-1 collapse. [Anaheim Calling]/

The injured Kevin Fiala got the Perds faithful going with an in-arena appearance.

One of the biggest viral moments from the Ducks-Oilers game: Zack Kassian taking a moment to celebrate his goal with fans.

Meanwhile, the Ducks are in a familiar awful position: losing Game 6 on the road and being forced to win Game 7 at home. They’re…not good at it. [Puck Daddy]

The Oil have lost blueliner Andrej Sekera for the rest of Round 2.

Stopping a superstar is the biggest challenge in an NHL playoff game, says Stephen Whyno. [AP via Yahoo Sports]

Meanwhile, Corsi has hit a brick wall in the form of the stats-proof Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals series, says Luke Fox. [Sportsnet]

The Hockey Writers is compiling prospect profiles, team-by-team predictions and more in their 2017 NHL Draft guide.

The Florida Panthers missed the playoffs by 14 points and had a season bedeviled by injury, but their young squad is on the cusp of being a perennial competitor. How will they handle the offseason?

Chris Oddo has compiled a list of six pending UFAs who could be great values for the right team, and New York Rangers left-handed D Brendan Smith is among them. [FanRag Sports]

Did you know that Gary Bettman and the IOC are still negotiating for NHL participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics? Well, they are – and it’s about hotel rooms this time. [Inside the Games]

Scott Wheeler, the managing editor of DBD sibling blog Pension Plan Puppets, has taken a new position with the Toronto Star. Congratulations, Scott!

Finally: One more from France’s historic win, as the Philadelphia Flyers’ Pierre-Édouard Bellemare refused to accept the player-of-the-game honor and insisted that goalie Florian Hardy (41 saves on 42 shots) take it in his stead. Enjoy.

Talking Points