News & Links: 4/29/10

David Backes and Erik Johnson turn down an offer to skate for Team USA in the World Championships while T.J. Oshie prepares to represent his country.

St. Louis Blues News

– The International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships are set to take place between May 7th through the 23rd, but you won’t see David Backes or Erik Johnson take part. The two opted to rest and not participate in the tournament following a year where they also competed in the Olympics in addition to their regular season with the Blues. T.J. Oshie (USA), Ben Bishop (USA), Chris Mason (CAN) and Lars Eller (DEN) will be participating in the World Championships. I for one don’t mind seeing Johnson opt out of any additional hockey that could result in an injury as he continues his road back. [Post-Dispatch]

– The St. Louis Blues website will be looking back at some of the best highlights/memories from the 2009-10 season. They kicked things off with the two wins over Detroit in Sweden that got the year off to a very promising start. Unfortunately, the two wins over the Red Wings to start the year was likely the high for the season as a whole – a rough statement seeing as there were 80 games that followed. [St. Louis Blues]

NHL News

– Did you watch the Montreal Canadiens complete their unlikely comeback against the Washington Capitals last night? If so, you witnessed history. Never before had a #8 seed ousted a #1 seed after trailing in the series by a mark of three games to one. Fans of the Caps are left scratching their head as they try to figure out how their offensively gifted side was held in check for a majority of the series. [Yahoo! Sports]

– No rest for the weary hockey fan. The WAS/MON just concluded the first round last night, but we already have second round action to look forward to with San Jose taking on Detroit tonight. Obviously, considering who the Sharks are playing, this writer is pulling for San Jose. Yahoo! offers a nice preview of the final four clubs left in the West. [Yahoo! Sports]

– For your “no surprise” news story of the day, the NHL has announced that Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Sedin are the finalists for the Hart trophy. [NHL]

Random News Stories

– Burger King is trying everything to compete with the Golden Arches, this time by rolling out a new brunch menu in select cities. If the test markets are successful, you could soon find breakfast sandwiches and whoppers living in harmony in the early morning, in addition to a “BK Mimosa”, a non-alcoholic version which would feature Sprite instead of champagne. [CNN]

– Have at least $500,000  sitting around? You can win handwritten lyrics by John Lennon himself if you’re the lucky bidder. [Today]

Video of the Day

With Oshie getting ready to skate for the USA in the World Championships, it’s only fitting that today’s video is a shoutout to #74. Here Oshie crushes Ed Jovanovski. I mean seriously, does anyone get tired of seeing this?