Was anyone disappointed in the snooze-fest type game this was compared to the previous two Canadian games? It was 1-0 after one (scored in the first 38 seconds) and 2-0 after two (Esposito with a dandy little backhand) and really, minus the dust-ups, kind of a downer. Canada easily disposed of the Swedes 5-1 in front of a sell-out crowd in Ottawa, whom also set the single game and tournament attendance records (watch for those to fall next year in Saskatoon/Regina, then again in Edmonton/Calgary), and used a method to win we hadn't seen since the opening game of the tourney, sheer skill. Take aside the Khazaks and the Germans, and Canada really stumbled against the USA and Russia, but rekindled their immense skill level that had left them since their 8-1 win over the Czechs. But really, Canada was just too deep, too skilled and too perfect for the over-matched Swedes.Here is what else I thought helped Canada win the game...
Angelo Esposito. All the 'hockey people' thought it was a bad idea to invite Esposito back, in case he got cut for a 4th time and shatter his confidence, but... HOW THE HECK COULD YOU NOT INVITE THIS GUY BACK!?!#1 – Anyone good enough to get FOUR invites to play for Team Canada must have mad skills
#2 – He's a Memorial Cup champion
#3 – He had 2 clutch goals in the final 2 games
The big guns stepped up. Hodgson (16 PTS), Tavares (15) and Eberle (13) finished 1-2-3 in tournament scoring with Hodgson and Tavares being named to the all-star team and Tavares taking home the MVP. In the final game, they combined for 2G 5A 7PTS.
Special teams. How effective is an NHL powerplay, 20-25%? This team went an astronomical 17/37, simple math tells us that's 46%. Wow. In the final game, they were 2-5 (Subban and Hodgson). Now, the penalty killing was a perfect 7-7 against the Swede's on Monday night, a powerplay that includes Hedman – projected #2 overall pick in 2009, Backland - 1st rounder for the Flames, Moller - 1st rounder for the Kings, Karlsson – tourney's top Dman and Svensson-Pajaarvi – a projected lottery pick in 2009.
Tokarski. I'm tempted to say that, 'he didn't f*ck this one up' because I was on the fence with this guy (and not the only one) as I'm already not a huge fan of him and was more then holding my breathe when he was named the starter for the final (see 8 goals allowed in 2 previous games), but he did what he had to do. He stopped 39 of 40 shots, but (Drew, feel free to correct me) I never really felt many of those shots were of superb quality. He was solid when he needed to be, but not outstanding.
Now, it's easy to point out the things that made this game such a dominant Canadian effort because, well, we won, but some things did irk me about this game and kind of got on my nerves...
Della Rovere. I learnt that this guy lead the WHL in penalty minutes when he left for the team and he certainly continued that play into the tournament. I don't mind playing on the edge and pushing the boundaries, but somewhere the line has to be drawn. I understand that he would do anything to win a game, but common, running the goalie is a no-no. If he had done that to Roli in '06, he would have a hand-full of guys to deal with at that moment then play the rest of the game with a target on his back. And here is something else about him... Look familiar... ?
The goalies getting run. Any comments Drewsky? Ha. This ties in with what I've said already. I know I praised Esposito, and rightfully so, but common, that was clearly a trip in the corner on Markstrom. Intentional or not, it doesn't need to be done; I couldn't believe that he didn't get a penalty. And pretty much throughout the entire game, the Canadians never let up on driving to the net and creating a ridiculous amount of havoc in front of Markstrom. Mind you, if I was Pat Quinn, I wouldn't be doing so much complaining.
The IIHF. Someone asked me why the IIHF doesn't allow fighting. I just assumed it was to make the game 'more safe'. Silly. Hockey is a contact sport, have you seen the equipment some of those guys wear?! It's like body armour circa 2030! I think this game would have been a lot different if there was fighting allowed, Hedman (6'3 200) would have for sure pummeled Esposito and Della-Rovere and possibly would have made a stand for his goalie, unfortunately he wasn't able to do that. Somehow, I think the IIHF and the NHL should come up with a set of universal rules: same ice surface, same icing, same advertising rules (stupid helmet and jersey crap), same fighting rules...The refs. I'm not going to criticize their calls, but they had 4 referees from 4 different countries... HOW THE SH*T DO THEY ALL COMMUNICATE?! I've always wondered that...
With all that said, here are some random thoughts of the entire tourney...
The Slovaks. Tatar and Janus. These guys are definitely Canadian quality. Did anyone see that redonkulous save Janus made against the Russians??? Wow.
Pierre McGuire. No double-Dion or monster performer; proof that Jesus does answer prayers.
Canadian no-shows. There are EIGHT players in the NHL that were eligible for this tournament and it's a whose-who of rookies: Stamkos, Doughty, Schenn, Sutter, Gagner, Gilles, (2 more). Also, there are 10 players who are eligible to defend this gold medal.Tourney all-stars. Tavares, Hodgson, Filatov, Karlsson, Subban, Janus. All well deserved, but this may be the biggest sign of the #1 prospect this year... Tavares was the MVP, Hedman didn't even make the all-stars.
James vanRiemsdyk. Just watch (in OT no less). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq1XIwykvJ8
Tourney format. Bob MacKenzie issued this warning: 13 of the 20 preliminary games were won by 4+ goals, only two games were 1 goal games. Lop-sided I'd say, eh? So, what someone proposed was... Canada, USA, Sweden, Czechs, Russia in Group A and Finland, Germany, Latvia, Khazakstan, Slovakia in Group B. Everyone plays each team in their pool, the twist is EVERYONE in group A advance and the TOP THREE from Group B advance. They get seeded 1-8 and play off like the NHL; 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6, 4 vs. 5. Then every game is meaningful, games would be more competitive and a lot closer. Interesting.
So, the sun has set on another outstanding tournament. You know, every year TSN does such an outstanding job covering this event its unbelievable. I barely knew this team going into the first game, but low and behold I can name probably 17 of the 22 (I actually got all 22, yea boi) and have grown attached to some of them. TSN just makes you connect with these teams so quickly and hope for their success that it's mind-boggling. So, props to TSN for another top-quality production. Also, is there anything better then watching the 30 second pre-game video, how pumped does that get you?!
Cheers.
-Smith
p.s. Is it just me or do all Russians look the same while skating? They all use a short stick and are hunched over, there may be nothing easier to point out then a Russian hockey player while skating.
You overrate Angelo Esposito, he hasssss had 4 invites, that means he sucks to much to get into the NHL. Another thing, he was supposed to go top 10 in the draft, and fell to 20th! He has already been traded to Atlanta by Pittsburgh. This guy is a complete joke, he shimmers here and there, but really, its all one big flash in the pan for him, he'll never amount to anything.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Jacob Markstrom is a fish outta water, with all his diving on the ice i swear he was part fish.
ReplyDeleteTokarski was in my opinion one of the worst Canadians on the team, except in the final game he could not make an easy save i think he let 3 short side goals in...ridiculous, to me he was the worst of the 5 starting goalies of the gold medal winning teams EASILY.
ReplyDeleteAnd to agree with kyle the Swede goalie, took himself and his team out of the game on the very first shift, he couldnt keep his emotions in check very well.
With all the bashing ive done of goaltenders, its time to give the props to the two goalies who stole the show this world juniors, the Slovak and the Kasistan goalie ridiculous what they had to put up with, both were amazing!
Going in, we're told the Canadians were instructed to get in Markstroms face, so we can't really expect much different. Although running the goalie is a no-no, Markstrom embarrassed himself out there. As much as I don't like the booing of these young guys, he deserved it. Plus, I know you don't like Della Rovere, but he didn't run Markstrom. Watch the replay, Markstrom sticks out his shoulder and hits Rovere and then apparently gets hit with an invisible bullet. Classy.
ReplyDeleteMarkstrom, despite all the bashing he is getting from you guys, is going to get a great opportunity in Ottawa! I think this guy is going to grab hold of the goalie job (like Price) and solidify that teams position for 10 years.
ReplyDeleteAnd Esposito plummeted in the draft and was STILL chosen higher then Eberle. Fag. Esposito WAS a bust, but he more then proved his talent at that tournament.
So then Eberle was a steal at 22, and they were different draft years too. He scored what 2 goals? What does that prove? Had he been in the top 3 in tournament scoring i woulda agreed with you, but three younger, better players, were the top three, he's still a bust....always will be.
ReplyDelete