In the moments after the Americans’ 4-2 loss to Canada that eliminated them from contention, the questions cascaded: John Tortorella as coach? Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin was a healthy scratch for North America.
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Once Toews scored his second goal of the game – on a two-on-one against a sprawling Roman Josi whose stick broke way back at the other blue line – it was basically over.
“Of course it wasn’t directed at the players”, Kessel said to ESPN. “They just grind and work and do it right, and they bring it when we need it”. Krueger is a Canadian who worked as a special assistant to coach Mike Babcock on the 2014 men’s Olympic team, and helped to design the game plan that permitted Canada to win the tournament without losing a single game. Maybe next time Team USA!
You can understand why a player on Team USA wouldn’t appreciate jokes so soon after an embarrassing exit from the tournament. The group is made up of players from Slovakia, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Slovenia, Austria, Norway, France and Italy, but they are gelling like a team that all speak the same language on the ice. Even though this game was important to the final group standings, Canada rested a lot of their best players.
With nothing to lose, Europe started to play more aggressively in the third, down by two, but ultimately, it made little difference in the final outcome. They came out of the gate a bit tentative and it showed by letting the Americans get on the board first.
“We know we’re going to get our chances as the game goes along, but whether it’s the Russians or the North American team in the next one, defensive play is going to have to be a huge focus for us given that fact”, Toews said. It’s going to be a great measurement of where we’re at. The Americans were excellent on draws, which led to Canada having to chase down the puck and fall behind in the play.
The United States will play the Czech Republic on Thursday in a game that has no bearing on the standings.
TJ Oshie would add an ugly one for the USA, but it’s too little too late as Canada win 4-2 and clinch a spot in the semi-finals, while the Americans are done. Unfortunately for him, they fell short.
Back-to-back games? Against a non-traditional opponent in Team Europe? Ryan Getzlaf and Shea Weber also sat, allowing Claude Giroux and Jake Muzzin to make their debuts in the lineup.
His lone hiccup came in the second period when Marian Hossa – normally his teammate with the Chicago Blackhawks – knuckled a puck past him from a sharp angle.
Toews later added another goal and an assist to make a three-point night.
Team Canada looks like it will overpower whatever stands in the way while the McDavids, MacKinnons and the other youngsters do something every shift that takes your breath away. The Russians, meanwhile, are flooded with unsafe offensive players, including captain Alex Ovechkin and Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov.
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The win gives Canada a 3-0 record and first place in Group A. It will now play either North America or Russian Federation on Saturday night. “There was times tonight that I didn’t think we were even close to being as good as we’re capable of being”, he said to reporters after the game.
