McDavid’s Team North America Is Fascination at World Cup

Someone has to play without the puck, so we’re penciling in Lawson Crouse for the same energy role he played at the 2015 world juniors and looking at two-way centre Pierre-Luc Dubois to play a similar shutdown role to Sean Couturier.

Russia’s plan heading into the game was to play keep-away with North America and not get sucked into a track meet with a team that created scoring chances on the rush. “They’re doing a good job of it”.

Team North America drilled the Finns 4-1 in a breathtaking first game, and faced Russia Monday night in their second.

This 23-and-under All-Star team is turning some heads early in the tournament. “That to me is one of the most exciting things about this tournament”. I can’t believe Gaudreau was able to get a stick on this deflection.

We’re also saving a few spots for the next generation’s McDavid and Matthews – players who are not yet draft-eligible but who could become household names in a few years. “I think that’s a good sign, but in a short tournament like this, we needed the points”.

“We just don’t have speed through the neutral zone or if we have speed we don’t have support, so we’re trying to be one on one and we see it’s not gonna work”, Ovechkin said after the loss to the Swedes. I mean, I’ve played Russian Federation enough times now to know how streaky they are.

Durant was good on 20 of 29 passes for 174 yards and had one pass intercepted while tailback Curtis Steele, playing for the first time in seven games, rushed 13 times for 87 yards. “You need a big moment, a big hit or huge save”. They were quicker, they were stronger.

But the kids found their way in, again and again.

Fellow Leaf Morgan Rielly also scored in the second for North America (1-1-0), which outshot Russian Federation 18-10 in the period despite being outscored 4-1. Nugent-Hopkins also assisted on Rielly’s goal. Sep. There were posts and pucks sitting in the slot and pucks barely out of reach. “We didn’t want to get into a run and gun type of game with the Russian team because that’s where their strengths are”.

The thoughts of Matthews: “That’s hockey, that’s life”. “It’s not always going to bounce your way”.

“He belongs where he is right now”, McLellan said. “I think It’s fantastic”.

But despite having a 5-on-3 man-advantage in the third period and another power play in the dying minutes of the game, they couldn’t put enough pucks past Sergei Bobrovsky.

“It’s something we built the team around, something we’re going to live and die with, because we think that’s what our identity is”, coach Todd McLellan said.

The left wing found himself playing beside Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel in Team North America’s final exhibition game, the NHL’s next wunderkinds who have taken notice of Gaudreau. It didn’t come naturally to them. “What an unbelievable future the National Hockey League has with these players has with these players around the league”.

Vladimir Tarasenko said the Russians were guilty of over-passing. “They’re a team that likes to turn the puck over and get going the other way”. It’s just if we can put it together. It’s not only the six guys on defence. Mark Scheifele battled hard to get to it and push it over the goal line, but ended up forcing a Finnish defenceman into the goaltender, who knocked the puck into the net, and that led to a reverse in the call on the ice after a review.

Let’s just say it didn’t go down easy.

Maybe it was. It was fun.

The goals from Russian Federation came fast.

Big absence: Team North America played the game without its best defenseman as Florida Panthers standout Aaron Ekblad sat out with an upper-body injury announced shortly before the game, which ESPN is reporting was a concussion.

Eh. Enjoy them while they last.