Czechs expected Brodeur
By BRUCE GARRIOCH, Ottawa Sun
TORONTO -- The Czechs refuse to take Team Canada's bait. The Czech players watched Canadian goalie Martin Brodeur leave the Air Canada Centre yesterday with his wrist taped, but they fully expect he'll be in the lineup tonight for the World Cup semi-final.
"Brodeur is going to play. He's the kind of guy who will play in a big game like this. He wouldn't miss this,'' said Czech winger Martin Havlat of the Senators. ''If he doesn't play, they've got other great goalies, but we think he'll be in there."
The Czechs have a concern of their own -- winger Jaromir Jagr, who has been troubled by an abdominal injury and took extra skating yesterday to get prepared for tonight's showdown.
JAGR SHOULD PLAY
"It's tough because I was three days without skating," Jagr said after practice yesterday. "It's okay (yesterday). I've still got about 30 hours to prepare and I should be ready to go.
"I wasn't going to play in this tournament before it started because I wasn't in great shape. But, I thought coming here and having two weeks of two-a-day practices would help me get ready and feel better."
Jagr knows the Czechs will need to play a great game and receive a few breaks if they are to knock off Canada tonight.
"They're the best team in the tournament," he said. "They've got everything: Great goaltending, great defence, great forwards. They don't have a weakness.
"But it's only one game and we're a pretty good team."
Jagr was also looking forward to facing former mentor Mario Lemieux, the Canadian captain.
LEARNED FROM BEST
"I learned everything from him," Jagr said of his former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate. "It's easier to learn from the best and he was the best at the time. I was very lucky to have him."
Czech coach Vladimir Ruzicka and his staff watched Canada's practice from the seats at the ACC yesterday.
bruce.garrioch@ott.sunpub.com
