Men's Olympic hockey

[Kin]

In total no, but I think that both Carter and Marleau have gone hard to the net and fought for those pucks in close has certainly helped.  That seemed to be complementing well and the Austrians really didn't have the defensive ability to win those battles in front of the net.  It wasn't a Kessel-JVR type pairing where they anticipate plays from each other but they were certainly both being very aggressive at htting the front of the net.

Yeah, although I think one of the things we've seen a lot of from this team is a willingness to get to the front of the net. You're absolutely right that both guys were effective in that regard tonight but I suppose I'm still waiting to see some guys develop the sort of chemistry that will really suit them when playing against the more threatening opponents.

 

[L K]

In total no, but I think that both Carter and Marleau have gone hard to the net and fought for those pucks in close has certainly helped.  That seemed to be complementing well and the Austrians really didn't have the defensive ability to win those battles in front of the net.  It wasn't a Kessel-JVR type pairing where they anticipate plays from each other but they were certainly both being very aggressive at htting the front of the net.

Yeah, although I think one of the things we've seen a lot of from this team is a willingness to get to the front of the net. You're absolutely right that both guys were effective in that regard tonight but I suppose I'm still waiting to see some guys develop the sort of chemistry that will really suit them when playing against the more threatening opponents.

Just to be clear though, I'm not advocating Carter and Marleau as our top pairing.  I think starting it out as the 3rd/4th line is exactly where they should be.  And if Carter happens to have a golden stick, play them more.  I think their game just complemented them well and I don't care how good your team is at protecting the net, when you have two big bodies coming in hard and one of them has been among the top goalscorers over the past 7 years, I'll take it.

Getzlaf and Perry had a few moments where they made some more cerebral plays with the puck today but that might be it so far.  It's been said and beaten to death but Crosby-Kunitz continues to be a dud pairing.

 

[CarltonTheBear]

The starters job was Luongo's to lose. And he didn't.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

It's nice to see that Marleau seems to mesh with whomever they put with him. He looked pretty good with Getzlaf yesterday and now today with Carter.

 

[GhostofPotvin29]

Funny stat: Carter played the fewest minutes on the team, 8:46.

 

[Sudafederov]

As per Jonas Siegel:

Luongo: "It's nice. It's my first win in three weeks."

 

[Kin]

I think their game just complemented them well and I don't care how good your team is at protecting the net, when you have two big bodies coming in hard and one of them has been among the top goalscorers over the past 7 years, I'll take it.

No, I agree with that. I think that, if the coaching staff were inclined to break up some teammates, that could be a really effective line with Getzlaf.

Getzlaf and Perry had a few moments where they made some more cerebral plays with the puck today but that might be it so far.  It's been said and beaten to death but Crosby-Kunitz continues to be a dud pairing.

Crosby isn't producing well at all. He hasn't looked great on the power play and it's not like he's generating a bunch of opportunities that Kunitz just isn't finishing. I'm not opposed to the idea of trying something new there but right now Crosby is the guy who really needs to step his game up.

That said, I still think that it's a pair worth maintaining if Crosby can start going the way he has for Pittsburgh. I know people have a tendency to attribute all of Kunitz's numbers to playing with Crosby but Crosby's had a lot of wingers in the past and none of them have been able to come anywhere close to finishing in the top 10 in the league in scoring.

 

[Arn]

The BBC has a feed for this game. Imagine enthusiastic soccer announcers calling a hockey game. It's glorious, way better than Hughson and Simpson just from an excitement perspective. I could watch that all day.

The colour guy is the head coach of the Cardiff Devils who are in the top British league.

He's probably better on the TV as he is as a coach.

 

[Sudafederov]

The BBC has a feed for this game. Imagine enthusiastic soccer announcers calling a hockey game. It's glorious, way better than Hughson and Simpson just from an excitement perspective. I could watch that all day.

The colour guy is the head coach of the Cardiff Devils who are in the top British league.

He's probably better on the TV as he is as a coach.

Thanks for that. I enjoyed watching that immensely. Obviously, Hughson and Simpson know their stuff more, but it was really refreshing to watch an outsider's take on the game. It was like watching FIFA 2014 World Cup of Hockey. It sounded like he really went out of his way to learn all the names and prepare accordingly. I know that's their job, but still it was very charming and really entertaining. Sometimes you just need to enjoy the game through a fresh set of eyes and I thought it was great.

 

[Redleaf]

An interesting BBC story about how badly the Russians want/need the Olympic Gold medal in hockey in Sochi. It is the Crown Jewels of these games and the Russians feel that they need to win it, especially since they are the hosts. The pressure to win among the Russian people,media and even president Putin himself, is immense..

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/winter-olympics/26181787

 

[Jalili]

As much as the Russians want to win I'd have a really hard time putting them on par with either North American team.

They've got a fantastic forward group (although Datsyuk is nowhere near being 100% healthy), they've got the goaltending to win it, but I just don't see that defense being good enough.

The defenses of Canada-USA-Sweden by comparison are so far ahead of Russia's that I think the odds are stacked heavily against them to win.

Tomorrow's game @ 7:30 AM (Russia-USA) is going to be a beauty. My expectation is that the Americans win, but I'm cheering on Russia for the sheer fact that it benefits Canada to put the Americans in a worse position.

 

[Bonsixx]

Near the end of the Canada game today, Hughson mentioned how they switched Kunitz to the Toews line.

So the only reason he makes the team is because "he can play with Crosby", and now they're already not playing him with Crosby. Awesome.

Claude Giroux should SO be there.

 

[Jalili]

Near the end of the Canada game today, Hughson mentioned how they switched Kunitz to the Toews line.

So the only reason he makes the team is because "he can play with Crosby", and now they're already not playing him with Crosby. Awesome.

Claude Giroux should SO be there.

A Toews-Giroux combo would have been awesome.

 

[Kin]

So the only reason he makes the team is because "he can play with Crosby", and now they're already not playing him with Crosby. Awesome.

Who are you quoting there? Kunitz made the team because he was top 10 in the league in scoring last year and top 20 this year. Obviously playing with Crosby helps but he's been one of the top scoring wingers in the league the last two years.

 

[losveratos]

So the only reason he makes the team is because "he can play with Crosby", and now they're already not playing him with Crosby. Awesome.

Who are you quoting there? Kunitz made the team because he was top 10 in the league in scoring last year and top 20 this year. Obviously playing with Crosby helps but he's been one of the top scoring wingers in the league the last two years.

I think he's "quoting" consensus among a few posters here and some fans elsewhere that thought that when the lineup was announced.

To the second point. I'm still not sure he's good enough to play on Crosby's wing when we have all the other talent available on the team. But I do certainly believe he deserves to be there. I hope he finds his game with another center. Just not Crosby in my opinion.

 

[hockeyfan1]

Here are some stats (standings and overall scoring leaders).

http://www.sportsnet.ca/olympics/olympic-hockey-standings-and-top-scorers/

 

[Kin]

To the second point. I'm still not sure he's good enough to play on Crosby's wing when we have all the other talent available on the team. But I do certainly believe he deserves to be there. I hope he finds his game with another center. Just not Crosby in my opinion.

Like I said to LK earlier, I have no problem trying Kunitz on another line or even having him as the forward in the press box vs. Finland but to set him up as the scapegoat the way some people are doing is ridiculous.

Carter looked mediocre with Crosby, they moved him and he scored a hat trick. I thought St. Louis looked good vs. Norway and then didn't do much of note yesterday on Crosby's wing. Canada can shuffle their line-up all day and put Crosby with the most talented wingers on the team the way they did in Vancouver but at some point it's on him.

 

[losveratos]

To the second point. I'm still not sure he's good enough to play on Crosby's wing when we have all the other talent available on the team. But I do certainly believe he deserves to be there. I hope he finds his game with another center. Just not Crosby in my opinion.

Like I said to LK earlier, I have no problem trying Kunitz on another line or even having him as the forward in the press box vs. Finland but to set him up as the scapegoat the way some people are doing is ridiculous.

Carter looked mediocre with Crosby, they moved him and he scored a hat trick. I thought St. Louis looked good vs. Norway and then didn't do much of note yesterday on Crosby's wing. Canada can shuffle their line-up all day and put Crosby with the most talented wingers on the team the way they did in Vancouver but at some point it's on him.

That's true enough.

Lot's of people think he's the best player in the world (all around offensively speaking of course) But I'm not even sure he's the best center on his own team.

But that's a whole different conversation.

 

[princedpw]

Didn't seem like Kessel/JVR had much ice that period.  Kane-Kessler had the most.

 

[Arn]

The BBC has a feed for this game. Imagine enthusiastic soccer announcers calling a hockey game. It's glorious, way better than Hughson and Simpson just from an excitement perspective. I could watch that all day.

The colour guy is the head coach of the Cardiff Devils who are in the top British league.

He's probably better on the TV as he is as a coach.

Thanks for that. I enjoyed watching that immensely. Obviously, Hughson and Simpson know their stuff more, but it was really refreshing to watch an outsider's take on the game. It was like watching FIFA 2014 World Cup of Hockey. It sounded like he really went out of his way to learn all the names and prepare accordingly. I know that's their job, but still it was very charming and really entertaining. Sometimes you just need to enjoy the game through a fresh set of eyes and I thought it was great.

Yeah they've a tough gig. There's a small but proud and vocal community of hockey fans in the uk who think hockey should get more attention than it does. So they've to cater to those with knowledge but also to the vast majority who probably have no clue what's going on.

I think they've got a good balance of knowledge and explaining things without being overly patronising to the new viewer.

Fingers crossed one day GB will be there for them to commentate on too! (GB rank quite close to Slovenia and have a pretty good balanced record against them recently. We just lack an Anze Kopitar!)