Notes: Canada C Sidney Crosby and D Jake Muzzin did not play Saturday night.
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US or Canada? Who will win the World Cup? We’ll see where it goes. “We have a strong leadership group and a good staff”.
“Because it’s the USA playing Canada, obviously there’s a rivalry before it even starts and so the tempo will be at a different level than you’re used to”, said Canadian coach Mike Babcock.
Playing for your country carries a different set of rules for the captain of the Montreal Canadiens.
The game began with Canada making the U.S. look like Europe playing North America.
The Canadians will have a chance to redeem themselves when the clubs meet in Ottawa on Saturday night in another exhibition game. Although it must be said, John Tortorella has not been impressed by his performance so far, dropping him from the first line after game one and limiting his minutes in game two. You’ll be telling players, “You deserve to play, but I have to go with this number now”. “Everybody knows a handful of guys before they got here and now it’s a great chance to get to know each other even better”. As expected, Canada will be the favorite going into any global hockey tournament. “He’s got to give me some reason to give him more minutes here. But with the short period here, you have to make sure you’re doing as many things, have as many good habits and getting a feel for things the best you can”.
“Quite honestly I felt we played better minutes (Saturday) than we did (Friday)”. Thats just the lay of the land of this tournament: I cant wait. With several members of the Pittsburgh Penguins representing their countries (or continents, I suppose), I think it’s worth predicting who I believe will come out on top of this tournament.
Who are the impact players going to be?
The U.S. beat Canada 4-2 on Friday night in Columbus, Ohio.
Crosby is projected to center Boston stars Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, while Getzlaf might center John Tavares and Steven Stamkos. There are two groups, A and B, each containing four teams.
Other projections: Toews centering Logan Couture and Tyler Seguin, and Giroux centering Matt Duchene and Thornton.
Its really important (for confidence), added Babcock. How better to do that then to face off against each other on September 9 at 7pm EST? When you dont score, you press.
How would a 39-year-old Zdeno Chara feel about not get an opportunity to play for Slovakia one more time?
The Muskoka cottage region in Ontario is ideal for families looking for a few days of fresh air. In a short tournament, there is no time to put the pieces in place and let the team grow together, which is why some success against the US was paramount.
If Canada gets more practice in, they’ll own this tournament.
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“We knew that they left a little bit at the (Sochi) Olympics and they’re coming back with a vengeance”, defenceman Alex Pietrangelo said Thursday. “So I’ll put that out there right now”. “We’re hitting goal posts, we’re missing open nets, little things like that you saw (Friday) night”. It’s great to have an embarrassment of riches in the defensive positions, and that’s what the United States has in abundance. Here’s what you need to know.
