But it is more than that.
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Team North America pulled out a 4-3 overtime over Sweden in its final round robin game of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Lundqvist stops Rielly’s slap shot with his right pad, but the puck goes straight to Matthews, his stick waiting on the ice. “I don’t know who they are but they’ll be good too”. The team has shown the potential of the future superstars of the National Hockey League.
If the hockey gods play along and produce a Finland victory over Russian Federation on Thursday, that would propel the North American kiddos into a semifinal matchup against their Team Canada mentors.
Sweden overcame an early two-goal deficit to clinch first place in Group B and a spot in the semifinals by getting to overtime and earning a single point.
“I can see how it’s kind of addictive to be on Instagram and Twitter and look for updates and stuff”, Hjalmarsson said. “They did it all”, Karlsson said.
Those players were instead part of Team North America, which was quick, skilled and easily one of the most exciting teams in the tournament.
“We weren’t prepared to give ’em the what-if, because we’re not built that way”.
Veteran Toronto writers were immediately pegging this as one of the great best-on-best games in hockey history. Canada is so deep in talent that they could field two teams and have them both be highly competitive, but the US does not have that same luxury, thus taking that top end talent from Team USA severely impacted their roster.
“Obviously, it’s fun hockey to play when there’s tons of offence and you’re focused on making plays and you’re allowed to make those plays”, said Scheifele, giving credit to North America coach Todd McLellan for letting the dogs loose.
The stunned Swedes finally took some of the wind out of Team North America’s sails just before the midway mark of the first period when Filip Forsberg sent a puck underneath the right arm of American goalie John Gibson. The petulant Under 24s tested Henrik Lundqvist so sternly, it drew out the best in the netminder some (outside Canada) consider to be the best in the world.
“Yeah, no matter what happens this afternoon, I think we can be proud of ourselves, we can hold our heads high and know that we did nearly everything we could do”, said Connor McDavid, before the Finland-Russia game.
There might be another World Cup.
If those aren’t ’80s numbers, I don’t know what are.
“Myself, Dave Tippett, all the staff, we’ve been around a bit and we became fans there”, McLellan said. “I was standing on the bench, (yelling), “No! No!” The energy in the building and the passion of the fans and the players. At the next World Cup, the United States will surely want any young stars it might harvest from these ranks, and Lord knows USA Hockey needs them.
That is when McDavid, who is from the Toronto area and missed Edmonton’s trip here last season because of an injury, pays his first visit with the Oilers to face Matthews and the Leafs. “And what the young players are learning and what we keep telling them is they’re pretty damned good”. When speed and skill come first, and the system comes last, we are reminded that our game can be electric again.
“I thought that we could be risky. I thought we built the team and played to the identity”, he said. I think the future looks good for the Under-24 guys.
Needing a win to stand any chance of progressing from Group B, the North American team, made up of players who are under the age of 23, snatched the vital goal in the extra period thanks to Canadian Nathan MacKinnon.
“I realized he was by himself”. “I made the first move and I lost”.
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“Those are a lot of guys that are going to be playing for the US and Canada real soon”, U.S winger Zach Parise said. “It was fun. A fun goal”.
