As far as complete games go, you probably couldn't ask for much better than the effort put forth by Team Canada in their 2-1 win over the USA. From start to finish, Canada kept the Americans to the outside as much as possible in the defensive zone while using their speed to challenge the US when they had the puck and hit the line with speed when they were in possession. This might be one of the best examples of a team backing each other up that I've seen in a long time. Malcolm Subban put on the best goaltending performance for Canada in this tournament since the days of Carey Price, stopping everything minus that one fluke puck that looked more like a superball bouncing into the back of the net.
As strong as they were on the puck particularly in the defensive and neutral zones, if they want to be greater assured of a victory over the Russians tomorrow, they would be well served to play with more urgency in the offensive zone. As a unit, Canada continuously hit the USA blueline with numbers and speed, but couldn't seem to finish the job consistently. Either passes weren't where they had to be, they wound up getting too deep in the zone, the passing angles weren't quite ideal or they took just a second too long to make decisions with the puck. Fortunately, there were far more positives than negatives to come out of this game and with some minor tweaking, there's no reason to believe the Canadians won't give themselves every opportunity to go 4-0 in the round robin. Safe to say, this was a statement game of sorts... and that statement was made loud and clear by everyone on the Canadian roster, 1-20 (or 19 or 18 or whatever it was). Speaking of which, I wonder if Steve Spott will forget he actually has a full lineup at any point in this game?
Looking back at the Canadian schedule in this tournament, you can almost make a case that it was perhaps the most favorable of all teams in the group. Going in exact order from weakest team to strongest might have been a best case scenario for a Team Canada that has gone through more than enough adversity since the pre-tournament period, allowing them to perhaps ease into the tournament a bit more gradually in a year they needed it most.
As an aside... how Jonathan Drouin isn't among the tournament leaders in points is amazing. His vision and puck movement has been spectacular. As well, thank you Malcolm Subban for showing everyone how friggin awkward it is when you get named player of the game as a goaltender in this tournament. Watching him fumble mask, trapper, glove and big-ass commemorative plate reminded me of trying to unlock the door to my house with an armload of grocery bags... except I'm not usually wearing goaltending equipment while doing so... a practice I stopped after I got tired of the strange looks from the neighbors.
Of course, I should be at the Coliseum right now, getting ready for a matchup between the Wildcats and Sea Dogs. Instead, that game has been postponed and I'm sitting here trying to stretch this post out as long as possible to avoid going out with trusty snowblower to remove another foot or so of the white stuff. Good call in the name of player safety (the game in Bathurst between the Titan and Rocket was also postponed) and quite frankly, based on how the Cats have played against the Dogs this season, I'm not too broken up over taking a day on the couch instead.
Time now for the techno-infused sights and sounds of the Spengler Cup. Godspeed, Rauter and Romanuk!
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