Five Minute Major: Olympic Hockey Gets Shaken Up
(Editor’s note: Be sure to join us on Tuesday night at 10 p.m. for “On the Ice with the 4SportBoston Podcast” where we will be joined by Joe Haggerty from Comcast Sports Net New England and Twitter fame! We will be talking Bruins and Olympic hockey with Joe and taking your calls LIVE!)
Three days into the Olympic men’s hockey tournament and we do not know much. Well, we know a few things, but nothing really concrete. As it stands right now, the Unites States team sits atop the overall standings with six points, but that is a flimsy hold because the four teams in Pool C have not played their second game yet. Still, no matter what happens today for Finland and Sweden, the United States controls its own destiny in terms of securing one of the four coveted byes to the quarterfinals. As yesterday showed with Canada squeaking out a shootout win over Switzerland and Russia falling to Slovakia in the skills competition, anything can happen in a single-game setting and it is the best interest of all these teams to need as few games as possible in the medal round to play for the gold.
The best thing about the first two games for Team USA is that the coaches, players and media are all worried that some of the lines aren’t clicking at the pace desired. For the youngest team in the tournament, having to worry about nine goals through two games being under performing is a very good problem to have. Most people were concerned about the United States being in the position Canada and Russia are in – leaving points on the table and needing to win to earn the bye. Also, after watching Jonas Hiller keep the Swiss in the game last night against Canada, only popping in three goals isn’t so bad. The U.S. has two days of practice to work on finding chemistry and mixing lines before the showdown with Canada. Coach Ron Wilson made some changes in the third period against Norway, moving captain Jamie Langenbrunner up to play with Paul Stastny and Zach Parise and dropping Patrick Kane down to skate with Ryan Kesler and Dustin Brown. Those two lines haven’t skated like the other two groups have, and reuniting Langenbrunner with his linemate in New Jersey in Parise is a good idea to help jumpstart the top line before the game they will be needed in most.
In honor of the five Olympic Rings, let’s move on to this week’s “Five Minute Major”
- We have to start off with the Canada-Switzerland game. I was keeping an eye on that game while Georgetown staged an almost epic comeback against Syracuse and every time I turned to the hockey game it seemed like Jonas Hiller was making a big save to keep the Swiss in the game. A player like Hiller is why the hockey tournament is better than the basketball one in the Summer Olympics. Sure, Canada vs. Switzerland seems like a mismatch, but the best player on Switzerland is the best player on an NHL team and he plays the position which can win games by itself. Sure, Tony Parker is a great basketball player, but France will never win gold with only him on the team. But, with Hiller play world-class goalie, the Swiss almost defeated Canada on its home ice. As a friend of mine put it on Facebook after the game, “If anybody near the border smells something funny, don’t worry, it’s just Canada’s collective pants-crapping wafting over.” Seriously, if Canada lost that game in regulation or even in overtime/shootout, the entire nation would have gone crazy. Those crazy Canucks don’t expect to lose to Russia, never mind the world’s neutral observers. The fun thing to watch and talk about until Sunday is whether or not this shootout win adds more anxiety to Team Canada or unleashes the fury. Because, now a regulation win by Team USA on Sunday will almost certainly leave Canada in the first round of medal play, having to skate by another possible landmine en route to the gold. Watching the faces of the Canadian players after the win last night, Sidney Crosby was one of the few that looked angry. Most of the rest appeared relieved that they didn’t totally blow it. The question is whether Sidney can translate his mindset to the rest of the team before Sunday. The guess here is that he does and Canada comes out flying.
- Ron Wilson must be feeling pretty good as the head coach of Team USA this morning. His team has picked up maximum points in its two games while also piling up a decent goal differential which could come into play for seeding. At the same time, he can point to missed chances, bad penalties and slow starts as things to work on before his team gets to the big games. Complacency is not a good thing in a short tournament like this, so hearing from U.S. players that they know there are areas to work on despite a strong start points-wise is a good thing. The Americans realize that this Sunday will be the most hostile environment they have ever seen. However, you get a feeling that this group of American players is excited by what they face. There is a certain attitude about this team, molded after its GM Brian Burke, where they enjoy being overlooked or looked down upon. Much like Curt Schilling stating that there is no better feeling than making 60,000 New Yorkers shut up, one has to assume Burkie, Wilson and players like David Backes want nothing more than to silence the frenzied Canadian crowd on Sunday.
- Speaking of Backes, he is quickly becoming Team USA’s identity. Playing on the fourth line with Ryan Callahan, Bobby Ryan and Chris Drury (a team can dress 13 forwards in the Olympics, so one of them rotates through – usually Drury) gives Backes a chance to play the
crash and bang game he enjoys. He has a goal and an assist so far over the two games. His goal was a thing of beauty, gathering a loose puck off a Ryan Miller save and going end-to-end and deking Hiller in the Switzerland game. Backes and his line will be counted upon to help control Sunday’s game as they most match Canada’s size. Plus, Backes currently has one of the best nicknames in hockey “Inglorious Backes” after the similarly titled Brad Pitt movie. - While there are games to be played Friday and Saturday, the three-game slate on Sunday is perhaps the best the Olympics have seen since NHL players began competing. Starting at 3 p.m. EST, there will be rematches of the last three gold medal games. Russia and the Czech Republic (1998 final) meet at 3 p.m. to determine one transfer spot to the quarterfinals. Then at 7:40 p.m. Canada and the U.S. play in a rematch of the 2002 final. Finally, at midnight, Sweden and Finland relive the 2006 gold medal game. Without question, these are the six best hockey teams in the world and they all play each other on one day. To quote T.O., “Get your popcorn ready.” These are all border wars with much on the line in terms of medal round seeding. If these games are close as regulation winds down, it will almost feel like a medal game. Canada needs the win over the U.S. to clinch the top spot. If the Czechs beat Latvia today, Russia will need the regulation win to bypass David Krejci’s team. If both Sweden and Finland win today, they will be tied and whoever gets the win in that game will earn the top spot in that group.
- Finally, a little Bruins talk. Reports started filtering around yesterday that the Bruins are all but certain to make a trade for a defenseman on March 1, the first day trading is allowed after the Olympics. I haven’t seen any actual names attached to these reports, either coming or going. While reporters like Darren Dreger aren’t exactly rumor monger Eklund in the fairy tales they post as rumors, I would like to see an actual hockey player mentioned. Friend of 4SB, Mark Marino talked on our podcast last week about Florida being a big seller at the moment. The Panthers do have two defensemen who would be interesting gets for the Bruins – Jordan Leopold and Dennis Seidenberg. Another is Nashville’s Dan Hamhuis. The Predators are currently in the playoff chase, so dealing away a player would have to bring back a more significant return than what it would take to deal with Florida. Hamhuis is an unrestricted free agent, however, so his rental rate may not be that big. Names to think about for the Bruins to deal are Vladimir Sobotka and Matt Hunwick along with some of the second or third round picks they have cached. The clear takeaway here is that Peter Chiarelli may like what he sees from his full offensive lineup and is ready to solidify the backend heading into March and April.
What do you guys expect from the US/Canada game on Sunday? On the podcast, I went with Canada by a 3-1 score. I never like moving off predictions, but I think the U.S. has much more of a chance in this game than I originally did. Still going with Canada in the end, though.
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[...] Five Minute Major: Olympic Hockey Gets Shaken Up | 4 Sport BostonThree days into the Olympic men’s hockey tournament and we do not know much. Well, we know a few things, but nothing really concrete. As it stands right now, the Unites States tea… Olympic Hockey Standings 2010 from FriendFeed [...]