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LeBlanc, Butler, Stapleton Contribute to U.S. Win Over France

05/11/2013, 10:45am EDT
By Brian Pinelli, Special to USAHockey.com

HELSINKI, Finland -- The 2013 Hobey Baker award winner; an emerging NHL talent; and a more experienced player, now in the KHL, accustomed to skating on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Drew LeBlanc, Bobby Butler and Tim Stapleton – three players having taken varied paths to the world championship here in Helsinki -- came together as a unit and had their best showing to date in Saturday afternoon’s 4-2 victory over France.

Late in the first period, the trio gave the U.S. a 2-0 lead with a sweet display of passing in the French zone. Stapleton took the puck from the left corner to the top of the faceoff circle, dished a nice pass across the slot to LeBlanc, who swiftly backhanded it across to Butler. French goalie Cristobal Huet never stood a chance as Butler slammed the puck into a wide-open net from the back door.

“I picked up my head up for once and then I saw Drew there and he made a great play.” Stapleton said.  “It was a nice little play by us and hopefully it will give us more confidence moving forward.”

“Timmy made a great play, he was patient, he found me while I was wide open and I just saw Butler on the back door,” LeBlanc said.

“LeBlanc made a perfect backhand pass and I just had to bear down on that one and make sure I didn’t miss,” Butler said. “It was a great play and I was just happy to be rewarded.”

It appeared that the goal would hold up as the game-winner, until France trimmed its deficit to 4-2, with a late tally in the third period.

“I thought they were more involved offensively…that’s a line that we need to chip in here and there,” U.S. head coach Joe Sacco said about LeBlanc, Butler and Stapleton. “It will take some pressure off Stastny’s line. With LeBlanc and Butler, they’re young guys. Stapleton has been around and brings a bit more experience.”

LeBlanc, 23, who led St. Cloud State to the NCAA Frozen Four this season, also had two strong chances in the first half of the second period, but couldn’t convert. The Hermanton, Minnesota, native, who made his NHL debut with Chicago last month, also won five of eight face-offs on Saturday.

“He’s a confident kid and obviously he’s very skilled,” Stapleton said about his young linemate LeBlanc. “He signed with the Hawks so he’s got a lot of guys to look up to, who will teach him there and it won’t be long before he’s playing full-time in the NHL.”

Stapleton, 30, played this past season with Dynamo Minsk of the KHL, and also skated for two seasons in Helsinki in the Finnish Elite League, while Butler, 26, has played parts of four NHL seasons and is currently with the Nashville Predators.

“We were moving the puck around pretty good,” LeBlanc said about the line. “Something clicked today. When we play hard and smart, good things will happen.”

Saturday marked another solid performance by Paul Stastny, Craig Smith and David Moss as Team USA’s most productive line contributed two goals, the second coming on the power play in the final 10 minutes of the game to finish off a pesky French squad.

If LeBlanc, Butler and Stapleton can continue to contribute offensive firepower and add valuable depth, Team USA’s chances of attaining its first medal at the world championship since 2004, will be greatly enhanced.

“As long as we play hard and compete, stick to our system than I think we have a good chance here,” LeBlanc said when asked about Team USA’s potential.

LeBlanc also talked about his recent experiences with St. Cloud State at the Frozen Four, his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks and now representing his country here.

“The last couple months and last couple weeks of the season have been unreal,” said LeBlanc, who made history at the first Hobey Baker award winner from St. Cloud State. “It has been a fun ride and I just hope to finish it off with a good tournament here.”

With the triumph over France, the U.S., now 4-1, climbed into the top position in Group H, with two preliminary round games remaining, prior to Thursday’s quarterfinals.

Team USA is back on the Hartwall Arena ice on Sunday taking on Germany at 4:15 p.m. local time/9:15 a.m. EDT.

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