The result didn’t prove that out, and the top offensive players accepted responsibility for not being sharp enough.
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Crosby was easily the best player on the ice scoring a goal and adding two assists as Canada lived up to their billing as tournament favorites.
That belief extended to the locker room, even if beating the USA looked shocking from the outside.
“We get along real well”, said Bergeron.
“I think we understand the position we’re in”, Crosby said. A lot of experience.
Team North America, with defenseman Colton Parayko, will play Team FInland and Jori Lehtera. Krueger emphasized that the Europeans weren’t satisfied to play one strong game.
We’re not even getting into the precise backchecks – one that saved a scoring chance – and the thinking man’s plays.
Sidney said, “You do play for Team Canada, and you find that out quick what you’ve done in the past has got you here”.
“We’ve put ourselves in a spot now we’re chasing”, Tortorella said. It’s a spot we didn’t want to be in. “We don’t have very many guys”.
TORONTO – Canada’s World Cup of Hockey opener was Carey Price’s first meaningful game in nearly 10 months.
Canadian captain Sidney Crosby was in mid-season form on the night, collecting a goal and two assists.
And in that opening minute, forward Ondrej Palat shook loose to get his stick on the puck for a redirect that seemed destined for Price’s bottom right corner.
Price was tested only occasionally by the Czechs, appearing much like the highly-reputed goaltender he was before injury last season.
“It was definitely nice to get a few shots off the get-go”, Price said.
“I feel good”, said Crosby, who won his second Stanley Cup with the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins three months ago. “But when we play our next opponent, I don’t think there’s going to be any problem as far as our emotion”.
Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Joe Thornton, Jonathan Toews and Alex Pietrangelo also scored for the Canadians, while Carey Price pitched a 27-save shutout. He had Canada’s first two shots, first goal and then helped set up the three that followed in a blowout win. The Czechs have become the weakest of hockey’s big six, to the point where assistant coach Jaroslav Spacek said of their denuded defence corps, “I would say, this is all we have”. If Team Europe tops Team Czech Republic on Monday, Canada can eliminate the Americans with a win on Tuesday. Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek was the backup and did not play.
The play started on a bad turnover by United States star forward Patrick Kane in his own zone, allowing Europe defenseman Tobias Rieder, of Germany, to chip the puck up ice for the two-on-none.
The Czechs couldn’t maintain their early pace and started to fade after the midway point of the first period.
Team Europe, a roster made up of players representing eight different countries, scored on their first shot when Slovakian Marian Gaborik took a ideal feed from Denmark’s Frans Nielsen and redirected it past USA goalie Jonathan Quick. “I thought Team Europe played a really patient game”. He looked rusty in a 4-2 loss to the United States but was sharper in a 3-2 overtime win over Russian Federation a few days later.
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“He tries s– that you think is 10 per cent and he’s thinking is 50 per cent, and he can do it”, St. Louis Blues and Canada assistant coach Ken Hitchcock said once. “We’re at home and there’s high expectations, but I think that’s just part of it. Boot it out and it hit me, let instincts take over”.
