TAMPA, Fla. — Although Teuvo Teravainen is already nicknamed “Turbo,” Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa came up with another evocative way to describe the 20-year-old’s smooth, clinical approach to hockey.
“He’s Finnish cold,” Hossa said after Teravainen scored a goal and assisted on another in the opener of the Stanley Cup finals.
GAME 2
WHO: Blackhawks at Lightning
WHEN: 7:15 p.m. Saturday
SERIES: Blackhawks lead 1-0
TELEVISION: NBC
When Teravainen was told about his veteran teammate’s praise, his pulse still didn’t jump.
“I guess that’s right,” Teravainen said Thursday. “I try to be pretty calm out there, do my thing. Don’t have to stress too much about it. I think I play better if I’m just calm and ready.”
With a beginner’s mustache, Teravainen barely looks old enough to be playing against grown men, let alone starring against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Yet overachievement has been a theme in Teravainen’s life ever since he took the ice back home in Finland.
“I’ve always been playing with the little older guys, always been like the smallest guy out there,” said Teravainen, who is 5-foot-11 and 178 pounds. “I heard that before: ‘You’re small, you might never make it.’ I always try to work hard, do something else better, like skating and skills. Just work hard and get my chance. Just trust myself.”
Teravainen slipped to the Blackhawks in the back half of the first round of the 2012 draft, but has progressed to the point that Chicago fans expect him to ease the club’s salary-cap transition when new contracts for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane force a reconfiguration of their lineup this summer. He has eight points in 13 playoff games, nearly matching his nine points in 34 regular-season games.
“I think he grows every day,” said Blackhawks defenseman Johnny Oduya. “I think everybody sees that, just the maturity level off the ice.”
BRUINS: Making no apologies for how long it took to reach a decision, rookie general manager Don Sweeney is confident that retaining Coach Claude Julien for a ninth season is best for his team.
Sweeney made the announcement Friday, ending nearly two months of uncertainty over Julien’s future after the Bruins underwent a front-office shake up this spring.
“I know there’s been speculation, and I wanted to make sure I put that to bed that I’m fully supporting this staff and looking forward to working with them,” Sweeney said. “Unequivocally, we’re moving forward with our group. I feel very good about that.”
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