Team Canada celebrates a championship at home on the eve of the NHL season, and leaves an entire nation, most likely world, salivating for the return of real hockey.
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Team Europe will take on Team USA in the first tournament game, while Team Czech Republic and Team Canada will square off later in the day. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh made an ill-advised pinch to set up a 2-on-1 rush that became Gaborik’s goal, and Hart Trophy victor Patrick Kane turned the puck over to give Europe a 2-on-0 rush that became Draisaitl’s. “First of all, no matter what he did it hit Step’s helmet before it goes into the net so I think it should be a goal”. That set the stage for a Pierre-Edouard Bellemare redirect goal on a counterattack that left the US down 3-0 entering the second intermission, a score that stood through the final 20 minutes. Now after just one game into the tournament, this team is on the brink of being eliminated.
Team North America, with defenseman Colton Parayko, will play Team FInland and Jori Lehtera. Another shot to the gut for Team USA.
A freak deflected goal by Pierre-Edouard Bellemare got past Quick later in the second period. More than anything else, he makes plays.
Team USA’s next game is against Canada on September 20th, and is a must win if they hope to remain in the tournament. The Americans, with size, speed and toughness throughout the lineup, defeated Canada, Russia and Slovakia by a combined score of 19-8 to finish the preliminary round a flawless 3-0. It’s not looking good, to say the least. Slow, old, broken, and not enough players in their prime to hopefully drag them to a respectable tournament.
In the other semifinal match, Team USA get a very unfavorable match up with Team North America.
Even when they had other options, US players looked for each other.
Canada rolled over the Czech Republic to open their World Cup of Hockey title defence. The semifinal winners with play in a best-of-three finals series starting on Tuesday, Sept. 27.
“We probably wish we were playing tomorrow so it will be a long two days for us”, said Team USA’s Patrick Kane, whose egregious second-period giveaway led to two-man breakaway that Draisaitl buried.
Team USA struggled to get anything going offensively against a European team that got absolutely torched but the 23-and-under team just a week ago.
And perhaps that’s the most troubling part of it all: A US squad assembled with the idea of having a little more grit and sandpaper – and not just skill – was supposed to make life harder for opposing teams with the way it retrieved pucks and created a net presence. “We just tried to keep everything to the outside, and we did a pretty good job of that tonight”. One game into the World Cup Tortorella is saying, “It’s a very risky spot, but we are here”.
Former Plymouth Whalers goalie Michal Neuvirth made 44 saves for the Czech Republic. They kept pressing, and had two late power plays, but were unable to get any of their 35 shots past Jaroslav Halak.
I have heard that a special anthem was made for Team Europe but that the players hated it and told them to trash it.
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It would be one thing if the Americans had applied steady pressure and physically dominated their opponent, but that wasn’t the case.
