US Coach Ron Wilson on the game;
"In fairness, Canada out-chanced us two-to-one for most of the game and our goalie played excellent," said Wilson.
Ya think!
I'm a Devils fan through and through and Marty B., well he's just the best that's ever played the position IMHO. However, I have no idea who the hell that was in net for either team last night.
Miller stood on his head, stopping 42 of the 45 shots taken by the Canadians. While Brodeur looked out of sorts, confused and quite often, he looked a little too disinterested in the actual play on the ice. What the hell was with that Baseball swing he was trying to make, when all he had to do was simply place the puck behind the net? So not a Marty mistake!
Cindy Crosby may have gotten a goal but when Rick Nash is the team leader out on the ice in any game the Canadians play, the opposition has the ugly game that they want. That IMO, will almost always lead to a loss for Canada. I think Miss. Crosby could've learned a thing or two from the Russia/Czech Republic game. Nothing like having your "star" player in Ovechkin, lay out the other teams "star" player in Jagr, with a beautiful open ice hit. As I've said here before I'm not a huge fan of either Ovechkin or Crosby to be honest, but there's no denying their stats. I'm just saying that in yesterday's games that meant so very much to the teams that were playing, there can be no doubt that Ovechkin showed up when it counted and Cindy, not so much from what I saw.
Unless they can pull some semblance of team play and atmosphere together soon, I see no reason to call that group of Hockey phenoms "Team" Canada at all and that, well that just breaks my heart.
Coach Mike Babcock's job was to pull these stars together and put the best team he could out on the ice and now more than ever, he needs to do his job well. Now it's not all on his shoulders since the players obviously need to show up, but that is his job.
So last night we got beat between the pipes, as Miller was far superior to Marty in almost every single way. Then we got beat between the bluelines as former Devils Rafalski and Langenbrunner with the Canucks Ryan Kesler, all showed up for the big game and were dominant players for the American side. All we brought to the party was the outstanding grit, heart and determination of one Rick Nash. So we also got beat between the rib cages I believe, as I think the American team out-hearted us when it mattered the most. Add to that what Wilson got out of his talent vs. Mike Babcock and I'd have to say, we got beat between the ears as well.
All that's left to see now is, if the real Team Canada players will show up for the remainder of this event. They most certainly have the talent and at times last night, they were more than a handful of difficulty when they showed it. But unless they can bring that attitude and heart for a full 60 minutes every time, I see a very disappointed nation in our near future. BUT ! Lord help anyone in their way, if these guys do manage to put it all together!
In other Olympic news;
Petra Majdic of Slovenia, WHAT A STORY!
Did anyone else watch the Womens Cross Country Classic Sprint?
During a training run right before the big race Petra tumbled off the course, falling about 10 feet and onto some rocks. Badly bruised and confused, Petra worked her way over to the starting line a bit later.
Turns out, Petra Majdic was more than just bruised when she won bronze in the individual classical sprint on Wednesday. The Slovenian cross-country star was found to have broken four ribs and suffered a collapsed lung from the earlier fall.
HOLY SHIT!
If I were Mike Babcock I'd have THAT story plastered all over the dressing room walls, as a reminder of just how important it is to bring a lot of heart to every single moment of these Olympic games!
My sincerest thanks for dropping by....