Saku Koivu
Saku Koivu
Saku Antero Koivuis a Finnish former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League. He began his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens in 1995–96 after three seasons with TPS of the Finnish SM-liiga. Koivu served as the Canadiens' captain for ten of his 14 years with the club, which makes him the longest captaincy tenure in team history, tied with Jean Béliveau. Koivu was the first European player to captain the Montreal Canadiens...
NationalityFinnish
ProfessionHockey Player
Date of Birth23 November 1974
CityTurku, Finland
CountryFinland
If I don't go there, I'm probably a lot more nervous right now,
He's a strong man, tough to maintain down low.
I think there's a lot of reasons. A lot of times in the regular season, you play back-to-back nights or you're on the road for a long time. In the playoffs, everyone is focused and . . . sometimes there's no explanation for things.
I think the positive is that everything is in our hands.
I think the positive is that everything is in our hands. I know we've played well for the last 15 or 20 games, but we need to win that last game and secure a spot.
I thought Perezhogin played really strong, he scored his second goal, he's been a real surprise. We knew he had offensive talent but the way he worked for the puck in the corners was impressive.
He's been tremendous for us. We never even thought that he could be near as good as he's been. He's a big part of the reason we're in the playoffs right now. For us to be as successful, we need him.
I felt like an outsider. The only time you get to really know guys is on the ice, and I couldn't be there.
Right now, it seems that we're doing good things, the puck is bouncing for us and we're getting breaks like I did at the end of the game.
They're all really important games right now. We need points to secure a playoff spot, and that's what we're looking for right now.
The thing that has surprised me is his consistency. As a rookie, it's tough to maintain your level of play throughout the year and he's played well from day one. Since the Olympic break, he's gotten more ice time and he's really taken advantage of that. I think the work he did early in the season is paying off.
It goes way, way back when we were under Sweden's rule. We always think they are better than us. We played against them so often for so many years. Every country has one opponent they want to beat and for us, it's Sweden.
I always knew where I was going eventually, so it helped me to stay at home for three years, ... It helped me to develop my game. But it also helped me off the ice. Life here is way different, and I was able to get older.
We can't afford to go lose two, three in a row. We've got to keep climbing and getting wins.