Team North America offers silver lining for USA Hockey
Lundqvist’s beard is far grayer than it was 10 years ago when he went from a fascination to one of the most celebrated hockey players in the world.
Beating Sweden was a very important win for the young North American squad.
The experiment that was Team North America officially ended Thursday when Russian Federation defeated Finland to advance to the semifinals at the World Cup of Hockey. But in life, as in sports (except for soccer, that is), things rarely go according to the script.
Henrik Lundqvist (G, Sweden): 45 saves on 49 shots in 4-3 loss to North America. So much talent, so much speed.
We didnt really know if was the whole tournament or what. Like how they would respond to adversity, and how their defence would hold up.
“I liked our team”, winger Zach Parise said. (Losing top defenceman Aaron Ekblad to a cheap shot didn’t help either). Shots were 37-27 North America.
MacKinnon’s incredible goal came while the teams were playing three-on-three and capped off a razzle-dazzle play by North America. Considering how much excitement they generated, I’m thinking no. “He’s a great player”, Matt Murray, 22, said of the 2014 No. 1 draft pick, per Fox Sports.
If artistic merit counted for anything in hockey, the young players would still be playing. We saw a once in a lifetime that closed too soon. North America wins a wild one 4-3 in overtime and stay alive in the tourney. Canada hasn’t been ideal in this tournament, and I wonder how their defence would have fared against those young legs. It got everybody engaged.
Canada/Russia is a quality consolation prize.
Especially in regard to Team USA, it’s been hockey at its worst; brutish, sloppy, sluggish, just a canvas slung with paint and no brush or form or discernible skill.
Russian Federation didn’t start off the tournament with the best result, losing 2-1 to Sweden.
Canada has the forwards to keep up with that speed, and they have the ability to shut down the neutral zone if need be.
Nathan MacKinnon, the top pick in 2013 and still only 21, dazzled on the overtime victor against Sweden. They’ll be expected to face Team Canada in a one-and-done semifinal game on Saturday evening, taking on arguably the toughest team in the tournament. According to Team Russia, it was a “small injury”. The Leafs blue liner had his shot stopped by Lundqvist but Matthews was there again for the rebound, this time putting the puck into an open cage for a 1-0 lead. They have scored a tournament-leading 14 goals and have allowed only three goals in three games. But it’s not only guys like Alex Ovechkin, Artemi Panarin, and Vladimir Tarasenko that Canada has to worry about. Although Russia’s blueline is seen as their weakness, goalie Bob is a formidable last line of defence. The bright side is that we got to see one of the most insane 3-on-3 OT finishes anywhere since the National Hockey League implemented that format last season for their regular-season games. “Three games in four days”. “There’s also no reward in the preliminary round to winning, so I would hope there would be a [second place versus third place] play-in game that rewards somebody at the start here and then a first-game loss doesn’t feel like death right away”. The result? Hockey the way it was meant to be played: fast, fearless and with a focus on scoring goals rather than preventing them. Others were convinced they were going to be embarrassed by older competition. The moment Sweden scores, they advance to the semis. It just didn’t win in regulation. A few mistakes and their tournament will be over. Carey Price looks as though he’s come back better than ever, after missing the majority of the 2015/16 regular season. If you wanted rivalries, it could have been the youth and energy and brio of the 23-and-under kids versus the monolithic relentlessness of Team Canada.