Notes: U.S. coach John Tortorella scratched defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, forward Kyle Palmieri and goaltender Cory Schneider. USA coach John Tortorella opted to sit big, bruising defenseman Dustin Byfuglien which came back to bite them as they were tossed around by the Europeans in what was a sloppy, 3-0 defeat and while they will need more than just putting Buff in the lineup against Canada it will certainly help. “We didn’t just come here to have one nice game”. A win by Canada in its game against the United States puts Europe into the semifinals, but don’t expect this sewn-together all-star team to suddenly think it’s not a 33-to-1 shot to win the World Cup.
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Europe pulled off a big upset to start the tournament as they took down the United States on Saturday afternoon and now they can move to 2-0 and book their ticket to the next round as they face off against the Czechs who ere trounced by Canada in their tournament opener.
A loss could mean the end of the national team careers for a number of players, particularly given the uncertainty surrounding NHL players participating in the 2018 Olympics in South Korea.
“We know we have to win on Tuesday and give ourselves a chance”, Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane said. “But for the most part, our game plan is not to back down, but also to stay out of the stuff that we know is only going to hinder what we”re really focused on. This game only needed one.
Tortorella went on to add that all the pre-game analysis and hype has reached the overkill stage.
Tortorella had more to say about his team’s loss to Team Europe, and how the approach to Canada would be different. “That’s no secret. It’s a way we’ve been built. It”s not about yapping after the whistle. “It’s something we need more of, having the puck more, and fighting for pucks. But when we play our next opponent, I don’t think there’s going to be any problem as far as our emotion”. “We’ve got a lot of work to do”. But if they need to turn to their backup, they’ve got another goalie to be fully confident in. “They’re exciting and nervewracking but the biggest thing is you can’t let the nerves get the best of you, can’t let the emotions get the best of you”. “If we get into a grind game and use our size and physicality, we might be able to tilt the scales in our direction”.
We all knew that the speed and skill would be there, but the North American team, despite its inexperience, was aggressive and fearless, which led to a lot of battles being won and the ice tilted in their favor.
Some 30 months later, Stamkos finally is getting his chance to represent his country in a best-on-best tournament, this one the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. “And obviously, where we put ourselves, our tournament’s at stake here”.
And eager to get the puck to their top offensive weapon: Kane. “I think Jonathan has just done a little bit better than the other guys, so he’ll be our No. 1 guy to start the tournament”.
“We’re playing against a good team, a really good team”, Tortorella said after practice in Ricoh Coliseum. US goalie Jonathan Quick was sharp, while Canada’s Carey Price, playing for the first time in nearly 300 days, looked rusty. After just three days of tournament action, the Americans will be facing elimination Tuesday night.
“Kane said he is ready to embrace the role of the Americans” go-to guy.
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“It would be silly to play any type of games”, Krueger said after Halak stopped 34 of 36 shots to beat Sweden on Wednesday night.
