faceoff when Jeff Carter feathered a beautiful cross-ice pass to Pearson,

NEW YORK -- Hockey rarely gets much attention in Norway, a skiing-obsessed nation that turns to soccer when the snow melts. Mats Zuccarello is changing that. Zuccarello is only the seventh player from Norway to make it to the NHL, and hes the first to make it to the Stanley Cup finals. Now, "Zucca" has Norwegians staying up late to watch New York Rangers games and checking the stats to see if he scored. "A lot of Norwegians have fallen in love with Zuccarello," says Roy Kvatningen, sports editor for Norwegian online paper Nettavisen. "First and foremost because hes successful at what he does. He won the scoring title in Norway, he won the scoring title in Sweden, and now hes playing on the biggest stage in the world. "Hes also got a cool name and a good personality: confident, but down to earth." Former teammates of Zuccarello and his mother are being interviewed by Norwegian media. Downhill skier Kjetil Jansrud and players on the national soccer team have sent him congratulatory messages. In his fourth NHL season, all with the Rangers, Zuccarello notched 19 goals and 40 assists in 77 games. He added four goals and seven assists in 20 post-season games to help New York get to the finals for the first time in 20 years. "Some people, like my close family and friends that have been following me since I was young, are really excited," he said. "I told everyone its a huge opportunity for me to play, but at the same time nothing is won yet." The affable 26-year-old winger hopes his success will build up hockey at home, but he knows it will take a lot more than that. "I would love to be a role model for younger players back home and create some more buzz around hockey," he said. "Hopefully this can help. If I was Norwegian or not, I would be equally happy to play in the Stanley Cup finals." Norway finished last in the Sochi Olympic hockey tournament. Zuccarello believes a greater commitment is needed within the country before success outside of it can be reached. "We have 25 rinks. There is no ice in the rinks during the whole summer," he said. "... How are you supposed to be a good hockey player when you go four months with no ice?" Zuccarello says Norway hasnt made a commitment to hockey since Oslo hosted the 1952 Olympics. "Nothing," he said in a frustrated tone. "We have one new rink in Norway that is not from 52. They have renewed it a little bit, but our main rink in Oslo was built in 52, and thats not good enough. Its got to start from the top. Its going to cost money, but the government has money. Youve got to use it to get new rinks, get people excited to go to a hockey game with new seats. Norway is considered the "little brother" in hockey circles to Sweden and Finland. Sweden has 10 times as many rinks than Norway, Kvatningen said. Zuccarello was fortunate to attend a hockey-centric high school and then played three seasons in Norways elite league. From there he went to Modo in Swedens premier league before signing a free agent deal with the Rangers in 2010. He watched the Stanley Cup finals as a youngster in the early morning hours. The first one he recalls was the Colorado Avalanches victory over Florida in 1996 when he was 8. The Avalanche, with Swedish star Peter Forsberg, was Zuccarellos favourite team. They won that series in a four-game sweep -- ending it with Uwe Krupps goal in triple overtime. "I remember waking up. I was going to school, I turned on the TV and Uwe Krupp scored the overtime winner," Zuccarello said. "I didnt think it was live. I thought it was taped." He might be about to create a lot of sleepless nights for grown-ups and kids alike back home once this series against the Los Angeles Kings begins Wednesday. Family members and friends are planning to make the trip to New York to see him play live in Games 3 and 4. They will have to make room for other Norwegian tourists who are looking to make the trek, too. "I know already that more Norwegians have been travelling to New York to catch a game at Madison Square Garden," Kvatningen said. "Even if theyre not hockey fans, its a great experience for Norwegians to go over there and see a small Norwegian guy getting celebrated." Best Price Asics Shoes Australia . Although Spain could still advance out of the group stage, the game may have signalled the end of the run by a generation of Spanish stars whose quick passing, "tiki-taka" style delighted the world and helped them win the last three major tournaments. Cheap Asics Shoes Online Australia . -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers. http://www.australiaasicscheap.com/ . - Zac Leslie scored two goals and assisted on two more, and Justin Nichols made 34 saves as the Guelph Storm blanked the Kitchener Rangers 6-0 in Ontario Hockey League action on Sunday. Asics Clearance Shoes Australia . -- Clayton Kershaw and Hyun-Jin Ryu will be the Dodgers starting pitchers in their two-game season-opening series in Australia against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Asics Shoes Outlet Australia . Hernandez (3-0) struck out 11 and shut down Oakland for the second time in a week, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to win three times in the first nine games of a season. With the usual "Kings Court" for Hernandez home starts expanded to a "Supreme Court" encompassing the entire stadium with yellow shirts and "K" cards, Hernandez gave up four hits in the 28th double-digit strikeout game of his career. LOS ANGELES -- Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar scored power-play goals, Jonathan Quick made 17 saves in his sixth shutout of the season, and the Los Angeles Kings clinched a playoff spot with a 4-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday night. Kopitar, Jeff Carter and rookie Tanner Pearson each had a goal and an assist for the surging Kings, who have all but locked up third place in the Pacific Division and a first-round post-season matchup with California rivals San Jose or Anaheim. Thomas Greiss stopped 28 shots for the Coyotes, whose playoff hopes have been hurt by three straight losses. Phoenix and Dallas are even in eighth place in the Western Conference with 85 points apiece, but the Stars have seven games still to play -- two more than the Coyotes. Phoenix hadnt been shut out since a 2-0 loss to Columbus on Jan. 2, but the Coyotes managed few good chances against Quick and the Kings formidable defence. Quicks shutout was the 31st of his career, leaving him one shy of tying Rogie Vachons franchise record. Quick, whose six shutouts are second-most in the NHL behind Bostons Tuukka Rask, passed Vachon to become the winningest goalie in Kings history last month. Pearson scored his third career goal and Alec Martinez had two assists for the Kings, who had lost three straight to Phoenix. Los Angeles has been outstanding since the Olympic break, winning 14 of 18 on the way to its fifth consecutive playoff berth. The Kings have won seven of eight oover the past two weeks, solidifying their post-season plans after a prolonged skid before the break.dddddddddddd. Los Angeles took the lead just 1:20 after the opening faceoff when Jeff Carter feathered a beautiful cross-ice pass to Pearson, who dropped to one knee to take the shot. Pearson, the Kings first-round pick in 2012, has earned a regular lineup spot after just 22 games in his rookie season. Doughty scored early in the second period, putting a shot behind Carters moving screen. The two-time, gold medal-winning defenceman played an outstanding two-way game, passing and shooting with the formidable skill showcased while playing for Canada in Sochi. Carter scored on an end-to-end rush midway through the third period, forcing a turnover and blowing a shot past Greiss. Kopitar scored his 25th goal of the season 40 seconds later on a vicious one-timer, giving the Slovenian centre six 25-goal seasons in his career. Los Angeles (45-26-6) needs one more victory to match the franchise record of 46, done three times previously. The Kings, who have won eight straight road games, visit the Shark Tank on Thursday night to open a four-game trip. NOTES: C Martin Hanzal went to the Phoenix dressing room for several minutes in the first period after getting hurt by an elbow from Jordan Nolan, who received a minor penalty. ... Martinez has 14 points in his last 16 games. ... Greiss made his fifth straight start in place of Mike Smith, who has an injured right knee. ' ' '