VANCOUVER – Just because so many people have asked…
The game times for the men’s hockey seminfinals Friday are:
USA vs. Finland, 3 p.m. EST
Canada vs. Slovakia, 9:30 p.m. EST
The two winners play in the gold medal game Sunday at 3 p.m. EST.
If there are any changes, I’ll let you know, but that’s the way it stands now.
VANCOUVER – Slovakia pulled off the upset over Sweden and some of the Slovaks were calling it the biggest win in their hockey history.
Guess they’d know better than me.
Now they get a chance for an even bigger one, against Canada in the semifinal Friday (game’s at 9:30 p.m. EST).
The USA will play Finland in the early game Friday.
What an unpredictable tournament.
Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson was profoundly disappointed.
“I really thought we’d be playing for a medal,” he said.
So did a lot of other people.
Canada looked down and out not so long ago.
Now they’re back to being favourites.
VANCOUVER – Some of the posters to the blog here make a good point.
Why not consider Marc-Andre Fleury to start in goal for Team Canada in tomorrow’a game against Germany?
The schedule is certainly favourable. He hasn’t played for a while, but tomorrow’s game against the Germans offers the opportunity to get a game in before the quarterfinals (we’re assuming Canada can beat Germany, right, people?)
Fleury is no stranger to pressure situations, having won the Stanley Cup last spring in a Game 7.
And he knows the Russians, who would be Canada’s quarterfinal opponent, as well as anybody having played with (Gonchar, Malkin) and against (Datsyuk) them.
Throwing Fleury in there against Germany…it’s not that outrageous an idea when you consider everything.
Is it?
VANCOUVER – Well, what would you do?
Would you come back with Martin Brodeur in goal for Tuesday’s elimination game against Germany or start hometown hero Roberto Luongo?
That’s the decision Team Canada coach Mike Babcock faces after Brodeur made some bad decisions handling the puck that led to a couple of goals in the Americans 5-3 win Sunday night, leaving the Canadians sixth in the preliminary round.
“What I’ll do,” said Babcock, “is without emotion watch (Sunday night’s) game and make a decision after that. Tonight was a night we would have liked to have been better in that area.”
So, who is it going to be?
This is my sixth Olympic Games and I’ve never seen a downtown as jam packed and energized as Vancouver. There are streets where you can’t move right now.
It’s about 11:30 p.m. and it’s to the point where the police are telling people not to come downtown.
Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is a passionate owner and has done a marvelous job of elevating the Caps to exalted status in D.C. He doesn’t think the atmosphere in GM Place matches that at Caps games, which is fair comment, but it’s a little apples and oranges. Here’s what he wrote in his blog: “…to be honest our Red Outs and our crowds at Caps games are louder and more passionate than this game at the Olympics. I mean that. Our playoff game crowds or our crowds when we play the Penguins or Flyers are as loud as or louder than these Olympic crowds.” I’d suggest he not be so quick to rush to judgement. Canada vs. USA Sunday will be much different than for an 8-0 blowout of Norway and if Canada makes it to the gold medal game, it will make a Caps game will look like, well, a Caps game from five or six years ago…
Here are the lines from Team Canada’s first workout here in Vancouver:
Rick Nash-Sidney Crosby-Patrice Bergeron
Dany Heatley-Joe Thornton-Patrick Marleau
Eric Staal-Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry
Mike Richards-Jonathan Toews-Jarome Iginla
Brenden Morrow
Chris Pronger-Dan Boyle
Duncan Keith-Brent Seabrook
Scott Niedermayer-Shea Weber
Drew Doughty
Morrow has been in and out in the drills with Richards.
Team Canada just confirmed its roster for the Olympic men’s hockey tournament and Ryan Getzlaf is in despite suffering that ankle injury a week ago.
The roster is the same as the one announced Dec. 30.
Jeff Carter arrived in Vancouver yesterday, but won’t be needed.
It looks like Ryan Getzlaf is going to be good to suit up for Team Canada, so Jeff Carter, who arrived here yesterday afternoon can go home.
Short stay, huh?
Carter told QMI Agency yesterday he wouldn’t stick around if he wasn’t going to play. He had plans for the Olympic break, but had put them off and thought it was too late to salvage them.
VANCOUVER – Team Canada coach MIke Babcock arrived here this morning and the intensity was just radiating off the guy.
“Now it’s time to emotionally engage,” said Babcock. “We’ve done all the work, but you’re so involved in your own schedule. I live in the U.S. so you don’t get it like you people do every day. It’s very obvious — I watched the opening ceremonies, I watched the events last night — so it’s very obvious that it’s very exciting. I’m thrilled to be here.”
Babcock said it was just this morning he has allowed himself to focus on the Olympics.
“The reality is until last night, it’s not 100 per cent (focus). But I think it’s like everything you do in your life — when you’re home with your family that’s the most important. When you’re at the rink, the Joe, you’re trying to make sure the Red Wings have success. And when you’re doing this, we put a lot of work in this summer, we spent a lot of times on calls. I’m real fortunate, I work with Steve Yzerman every day so it can be five minutes on the Red Wings and 20 minutes on the Olympic team or vice versa. So that’s been straightforward.”
“We’re excited,” said Babcock. “We think we have an opportunity. I don’t know what else you could ask for — the Olympics are in your home country, obviously Vancouver is a beautiful, beautiful city. We get to show off how proud Canadians are and what a great place we have. And we get to show off how good we are at hockey.”
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