AUSTIN http://www.avalancheshoponline.com/authentic-j.t.-compher-jersey , Texas (AP) NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly says participation in the 2022 Olympics in China is possible but not essential to the league’s efforts to grow the sport in the world’s largest country.The NHL was criticized by the International Olympic Committee and fans for not allowing NHL players to compete in the recent Olympics in South Korea.After letting them play in the previous five Olympics, the NHL said it didn’t want to disrupt the midseason schedule or risk players to serious injury this year.The China games, however, could be different as the NHL eyes an untapped market of 1.4 billion people.”I’m not making any news today, I will say certainly it’s a possibility,” Daly said while speaking at the annual SXSW Interactive conference on a panel about the NHL’s efforts to grow hockey in China. ”We have (a couple) of years to kind of make that decision … I don’t think it’s a critical element to our being able to grow the sport in China … I don’t think it’s an essential.”Daily said the NHL owners thought long and hard before deciding not to allow NHL players to compete in the Olympics in South Korea.”In South Korea, we felt ultimately there were a lot more negatives than positives than going,” Daley said. ”I expect we’ll go through the exact same process (before 2022) … There may be more positives to participating in Beijing.”The NHL clearly has a business eye on China.The league and teams have held regular youth and coaching clinics in Shanghai, Beijing and other Chinese cities. Last September, the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks played the league’s first exhibition game in China. The NHL also has an agreement with Bloomage International Group, a Chinese-based company with a focus on developing sports in the country.”There’s a lot of potential NHL fans there, a lot of potential NHL players there,” Daly said.There’s also competition. The Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League, has already established a professional team in China, the Kunlun Red Star, before the 2016-2017 season.”Right now China is one of, if not the, hottest markets in the world. Everyone wants to get in there,” said David Proper, executive vice president of media and international strategy for the NHL.Yet hockey still barely registers in China. According to the International Ice Hockey Federation, China has less than 12 Youth Matt Nieto Jersey ,000 registered junior players and less than 500 rinks around the country.”China is a hip market, but there is zero infrastructure,” said Jessica Guo, deputy general manager for Bloomage.As host for the next Winter Games, the Chinese government is making a push to increase participation in all winter sports. The NHL has approached the government about introducing hockey-based games into middle school physical education programs, Proper said.The NHL’s goal in China is to ”build a permanent presence, building a hockey infrastructure, a hockey culture,” Daly said. ”That’s not just rinks. It’s equipment and coaching. Unlike other countries we’ve played games in, this is a new market for hockey. We realize our obligation is to build the base.” SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Mikkel Boedker knew the Sharks‘ power play has been fizzling lately. He wasn’t about to miss another opportunity.Boedker scored San Jose’s first power-play goal in a month, helping lift the Sharks past the St. Louis Blues 2-0 on Thursday night.Tomas Hertl added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds, and Martin Jones made 16 saves for the Sharks, who have won three of four. San Jose has also won five of six at home.”It definitely felt good to get that in the back of the net,” Boedker said. ”We knew about the opportunities that we’d missed. I think we were 0 for 28, we knew that. We know what’s going on. It’s just a matter of sticking with it. We have All-Star players in this group that are going to dig us out of the hole.”Jake Allen recorded 34 saves and was the only healthy goalie with NHL experience available to the Blues. Carter Hutton was a late scratch and Ville Husso, who the Blues recalled from the AHL, will join the team in Los Angeles.”Jake was awesome,” Blues coach Mike Yeo said. ”It was a tough situation and he responded well. It was the most complete game he’s played in a while.”The Blues, losers of eight of their past nine, have had trouble getting the puck into the net lately Mikko Rantanen Jersey , with 15 goals over their past nine games, including back-to-back shutouts. Carl Gunnarsson, Dmitri Jaskin, Vince Dunn, Tage Thompson and Vladimir Sobotka all have goalless streaks of at least 10 games.”The work ethic is there and the defensive focus was there,” Yeo said. ”It was way too many turnovers. You can’t create when you’re defending and chasing all night.”By contrast, the Sharks had scored 30 goals over their past nine games, though all had been at even strength. The Sharks had not scored on the power play since Feb. 8, a span of 12 games.”The boys played really well tonight. It’s the way we need to play moving forward,” Jones said. ”It’s a good thing if I’m not getting too many shots.”Boedker ended a streak of 39 consecutive even-strength goals with 7:48 left to play. He took a pass in front of the net from Joonas Donskoi and fired at Allen, who blocked the shot but the puck skipped off his pads and knuckled off the right post and into the net.”We know how important points are, and the guys were ready to play,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. ”It wasn’t an easy game. The Blues battled hard, . What I liked was our resiliency. We stuck with it, stuck with it, didn’t try and force it, knew that if we stayed with it long enough it would come and eventually we got rewarded.”The goal was set up when Kyle Brodziak was whistled for holding the stick, just the second Blues penalty of the game.”It’s hard to say what angle he had. The stick just came up in my arm,” Brodziak said. ”It was bad timing. I have to watch it carefully but at the time it didn’t feel like a penalty that would decide the game.”NOTES: Blues C Brayden Schenn appeared in his 500th NHL game. … Sharks F Timo Meier played in his 100th NHL game. … Hutton sustained a neck injury and St. Louis signed Palo Alto native Ben Wexler as an emergency backup for Thursday’s game. Wexler played hockey at Illinois.UP NEXTBlues: at Los Angeles on Saturday.Sharks: vs. Washington on Saturday.—