Off to the ice and a do-or-die game for Alexander Ovechkin and Russian Federation at the World Cup of Hockey.
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Team Canada center Ryan Getzlaf (15) collides with Team USA defenceman Dustin Byfuglien (33) during third period World Cup of Hockey action in Toronto on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2016. But in life, as in sports (except for soccer, that is), things rarely go according to the script. “I played two games and we didn’t even score a goal”. As the National Hockey League looks back on what works and what doesn’t, it has to realize that one of the best parts was the “young guns” team. No one really knew what to expect from these kids, though. One bad period against Team Russia (thanks to an injury to Matt Murray) ultimately spelled their demise.
Team North America created a buzz. While Russia didn’t win, there’s only so much he can do.
The NHL was panned initially for the North American and European all-star teams, but the youngsters’ speed, skill and scoring won so many people over that merchandise bearing the “NA” logo was nearly entirely sold out at Air Canada Centre. Considering how much excitement they generated, I’m thinking no.
Pavel Datsyuk’s North American magic show had one final act. It wouldn’t have been impossible. They were thoroughly outplayed early, quickly going down 2-0 before rallying to force overtime.
There’s a strong chance the format that introduced Team North America and Team Europe to the world is a one-off.
Canada/Russia is a quality consolation prize.
TORONTO (AP) – Sidney Crosby was at his best on one of hockey’s biggest stages.
Canada will meet Russia Saturday in a resumption of one of the great rivalries in global hockey.
“That was a pretty good team”, said Toews. Russian Federation should pose the biggest threat to Canada thus far and it’s a shame this isn’t the gold medal match, but Canada should have enough to get the win and move on to the finals. I wonder if Team Canada was secretly cheering for Russian Federation because the thought of Carey Price getting undressed by Nathan MacKinnon wasn’t something they’d like to have seen. We obviously were counting on them to get out of pool play, but they weren’t able to do it. 1-zip big red machine. It feels as though they’re just beginning to hit their stride, and that forward group contains a boatload of firepower. Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko front a risky top line with Evgeni Malkin, Nikita Kucherov, and Calder Trophy victor Artemi Panarin there, too.
Still, it’s hard to see anyone slowing down Team Canada at this point. You could make that team 100 different ways and I think if you had 100 different people picking a team there is not going to be a consensus on every single person. The key for Russian Federation will be confidence.
Russian Federation couldn’t match that level of scoring potency, but it was buoyed for stretches by a resilient effort from goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who notched 42 saves. They know how to play with the players they have. The question for them is whether or not they’ll have to adapt their style against Canada and whether or not they’re going to. The two will meet in the semifinals on Saturday and are unlikely to return to their regular gig until the middle of next week.
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Canada will likely be labeled as the favorite in this contest, but a win isn’t a given by any means. Not that Sweden has the firepower of Canada, but it has similar depth – certainly more than the two eliminated squads. They haven’t played as sound defensively as Mike Babcock would like. We’re having a lot of fun and getting a chance to play in the semifinals, it was tough getting here. Canada absolutely has to pay attention to detail and fix up the loose ends in their game. Will this be a classic Russia/Canada match-up?
