So, it goes without saying that the Blue Jackets know how to stock their system.
Advertisement
The questions about how this might be achieved are twofold. They had no answer, they tried their damnedest to have an answer, but it genuinely seemed like things were now all Team Europe and they let the last period slip away from them, allowing Team Europe to get the first win of the tournament. North America doesn’t feature a blueline of that caliber but their forwards more than made up for it by using their speed to track back and help out defensively. “There are guys that have different roles and different jobs on the team”.
Then on Zach Parise with Team USA a late power play.
Kane is trying to shake off a disappointing turn against Team Europe that saw him cough up the puck, leading to an embarrassing 2-on-0 and a 2-0 Team Europe lead. We’ll find out Tuesday if the Americans – under tremendous pressure after an opening loss the Europeans – can rebound against the tournament hosts. First on Justin Abdelkader after a point shot from T.J.
“Ideally you’d love to have four lines that you’re rolling and you’re scoring and are trusted in all situations”, Backes said. The San Jose Sharks forward was rammed into the unforgiving boards by Oshie that night in Columbus and needed to be taken for medical observation before returning to action later on.
“I think when you play Canada, it’s more of a clash”, Tortorella said. “We need to win that game”, he said.
New Red Wing Frans Nielsen assisted on the game’s first goal for Team Europe. Tortorella had no issues with his team’s energy level or effort against Europe, elements that will be ramped up against Canada.
“That’s not my decision”, Byfuglien said. “I’m definitely frustrated that we didn’t put up a better game”. Being on the other side now, watching from a fan’s perspective, I think it’s going to be an incredible tournament to watch. The Sounders won 1-0, but the Czechs lost one of their most important players. Leaving skilled players like Tyler Johnson and Kyle Okposo off the roster sparked plenty of second-guessing of the US management team, and that won’t slow down after losing to Team Europe. “It’s very re-assuring”, said Steven Stamkos, Team Canada forward. And that’s kind of the next play.
In the other opening day contest, Sidney Crosby finished with a goal and two assists as top-ranked Canada routed the Czech Republic 6-0. Instead, the Americans prove time and again to be the laughing stock of the hockey world because they ignore the talent they do have and poorly manage the players they pay any mind to. But if after watching that game you realized that maybe this tournament has some potential for fun and it won’t (just) be a long, slow slog towards the revamping of USA Hockey’s worldwide team plan, then today will be a treat. Against better teams, that could be a problem, but their PK didn’t give the Czechs much. “There were times we went D-to-D when I thought we didn’t have to, but even if we didn’t, we didn’t get the puck up the ice quickly”.
Playing on the west coast with the Sharks, Couture says he doesn’t often get the chance to watch Crosby live, but now up close he’s seen some things. Ultimately, though, this team is going to be judged by how they play on Tuesday, and they’re going to be desperate. “We still feel like there was not really enough there, so I think naturally that is where some change is going to come”. Not so much for the physical and practicing, but the mental.
The narrative going into the game was if the Europeans could gel as a unit.
USA coach John Tortorella tried to give Kaner a chance to redeem himself; he ended up leading all forwards with 18:48 minutes of ice time. The team struggled in generating any quality chances on net and is already in big trouble after just one game of the tournament.
Advertisement
The Americans, seemingly focused and committed to being better than what they were, are hoping Babcock is right.
