2010 Canadian Olympic Hockey Team

[spitz20]

Canada is #1

[senorchipotle]

Granted, they were playing Norge, but the Canadians looked good strong today... Iginla with the hat trick and Crosby was Crosby...

i thought crosby passed to stills and then to nash?

[Divot Tool]

Remember those words when they are playing, "The Star Spangled Banner" after the medal ceremony.

As I scroll down all these rosters, I start to realize the depth of skill/talent on these teams. It'll be interesting to see how the coaches harness all that firepower. We'll be seeing first liners of their respective NHL teams playing on a 2nd or 3rd lines on their national squads...it's quite possible. I believe it'll come down to

chemistry and defence . All these teams, with the exception of Norway, Germany and Belarus, have the ability to turn a game around very quickly. The difficulty in predicting the results is such that it's a one game elimination format after the round robin, not a 7 game series (i.e. NHL Playoffs). Needless to say, I'll be rooting for the home team. Go CANADA! However, here are my predictions: Call me CRAZY! 1. Sweden (Gold) 2. Russia (Silver) 3. Czech (Bronze) 4. Finland 5. United States 6. Canada 7. Slovakia 8. Switzerland 9. Latvia 10. Belarus 11. Germany 12. Norway Let's hope this doesn't transpire and Canada wins gold.

[Chuck Porter]

The Czechs look really good so far. Russia and Canada-too many stars, not enough pucks? It's hard to find cohesiveness in a week, but other than the Sharks line, Canada is still searching for some chemistry.

[apex53]

Big game: US vs Canada in five minutes... Getting anxious for this one to start

[GaijinGolfer]

So, do you guys want to keep talking all this trash about how great Canada is or are you finally going to give it a rest? The USA gave Canada a serious reality check today.

[kpaulhus]

Yeah buddy!!!! Go usa!

[iacas]

The USA gave Canada a serious reality check today.

Uncle Daddy was really quite gettable today. But still, a good hard, well-played hockey game. Fun to watch.

[jurban05]

USA. all that needs to be said.

[Lefty-Golfer]

I'm a bit biased being Canadian, but I agree, the US team looks, well, not that strong! (I'm trying to be polite here). Anything can happen, but this would probably be "the upset of Hockey history " if they won.

...........

[murphmjm]

not much Canadian input on this thread anymore!

[sean_miller]

Martin Brodeur - you really let me down. You're not my son!!

Great game - Miller stole it in the third - like Luongo or Fleury might need to do from here on in if Canada wants a medal?

[gogolfing]

not much Canadian input on this thread anymore!

Here is some; I give Ryan Miller the credit for the win yesterday. Obviously disappointed with Martin Brodeur's performance, but it is a single game elimination from here on out, so based on the past three winter Olympics, anything can happen. Canada got off to a rough start in Salt Lake City in 2002 too, and then went on to win gold. Looking forward to the hockey over the next 6 days.

[Divot Tool]

not much Canadian input on this thread anymore!

Man that game was a nail biter. I had to refrain from posting and let things cool off after a disappointing loss. We Canadians hate losing to Americans despite being friendly neighbours. The Canada vs USA match sunday evening was a tale of goaltending . On one end you have Ryan Miller, who basically stood on his head and stopped every puck he could lay his eyes on. (Give this kid a Vezina Trophy) On the opposite end you have Martin Brodeur, who instead of playing in his crease, wandered out of it one too many times to play the puck. Two crucial goals stemmed from his restlessness. Rafalski & Langenbrunner knew exactly what Brodeur was pulling as they were all teammates (NJ Devils) not too long ago. They exploited his weaknesses as he was out of position. Miller did his job and a fine one at that, while Brodeur forgot his responsibilities. I think that Canada dictated the game, clearly had more puck possession, but ultimately fell due to some mental lapses on defense. It's commonly known in team sports that you are most vulnerable after scoring a goal and the Canadians proved that after pulling even at one. Rafalski notched his second goal of the game after Brodeur was trying to play baseball instead of ice hockey. If any of you watched the Canadian broadcast on CTV, one of the commentators said something along the lines of Canada not being able to put anything in the net except for Sidney Crosby, after he plowed through Ryan Miller's crease and into the net. Canada couldn't buy a goal in the third. The Americans were dangerous on the counter and when Canada was on it's heels, they made them pay. Despite winning, I think they must play better as a team to considering their most lethal weapons in my mind, Kane, Statsny and J. Johnson were held off the score sheet. Teams that are successful have solid net-minding, but the truth is they'll have to take the heat off Miller defensively as you can't expect your goalie to be sensational in every game, in this atmosphere/tournament considering the skill/prowess/depth on these teams. Regardless, the US will cruise to the semi-finals where as the Canadians, if they can dispose of Germany will have a date with Russia. Yikes...imma have to call in for work.

[Lefty-Golfer]

Regardless, the US will cruise to the semi-finals where as the Canadians,

could be a lot of that in Canada

[luckyluke699]

It's not directly related, but I saw my first ever live Ice Hockey game the other day (UK)... It was effectively the lower of the 2 main leagues here in the UK, and I watched the Swindon Wildcats vs Slough Jets so I expect the standard was well below what you're used to.

I must say overall it was ok, though I was very confused about why the breaks are so long? Is that mainly to allow the ice to be repaired as I can't see any way the players would need that length of break (15 minute break after 20 minutes of play)?

Apart from that, the rules were easy enough to pick up on, and it was a very enjoyable spectator sport!

[sean_miller]

It's not directly related, but I saw my first ever live Ice Hockey game the other day (UK)... It was effectively the lower of the 2 main leagues here in the UK, and I watched the Swindon Wildcats vs Slough Jets so I expect the standard was well below what you're used to.

I can't comment on break length in game you watched, but in N. America 15 minutes between periods for minor league and ~ 18 minutes for the pros isn't seen as excessive.

Some of it's due to the ice, some of it's to satisfy sponsors who apparently don't get enough TV timeouts during the action, some of it justifies the sheer number of ex-players as analysts (they all need to get their word in - not as bad as the NFL, but still), but the number one reason for the length of break is that's precisely how long it takes to take a whiz, get into the beer lineup, and get back to your seat before the puck drops.

[B Keller]

Without Miller in our nets I think Canada wins the game.

And I think the Mets should give Brodeur a tryout. That swing could net you 25 HR a year....