In terms of style and offensive firepower, Team USA’s second outing of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games could not have been any different to their tournament debut.
Thursday night’s 7-1 thrashing of Slovakia, which included a 6-goal second period onslaught, bore no resemblance to the grinding, gritty and epic contest against the home nation, one that ended 3-2 after a marathon shootout.
It was a fitting end to a titanic struggle, which was even better than anyone had dared to expect.
Unless you’re Russian, of course. Then, it wasn’t so good.
Like four years ago when the Americans played Canada, this was the game that the host nation had circled, a contest that would tell us more about where both the Russians and the Americans would figure in the race for medals at these Olympics, and, perhaps, a chance for the team in red to atone – at least a little – for their shocking loss at the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980, the moment thereafter known as the “Miracle on Ice”.
Alas, for the Russians, it ended as Canada’s hopes for a victory against the Americans four years ago ended: in disappointment, a 3-2 shootout loss thanks in large part to goaltender Jonathan Quick with a handy (shootout) assist from noted shootout specialist T.J. Oshie.
Doubtless, host nations will not be happy to be matched up against the Americans in Olympic round robin games in the future.
Two days after routing the Slovaks, the Americans showed the sort of solid defensive work that many pundits – myself included – did not think was possible from a largely inexperienced defensive corps, shutting down a legion of Russian superstars.
Impressively, the Americans were physical from the outset, led by Dustin Brown and David Backes, two men who are master agitators with big frames, and not easily moved.
Goaded on by a ferociously loud crowd – louder than in most NHL arenas – there were more after-play scrums and moments of obvious dislike in this game than I’ve seen in Olympic hockey for a long time.
Clearly, the Russians and the Americans, do not like each other.
It was great to watch, hockey from the top shelf.
New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan jousted with Yvegeni Medvedev when he wasn’t dropping to the ice to block shots.
There were crosschecks not called and physical confrontations galore.
As the Slovakian win sent a message about Team USA’s offensive potency, so will this game send a message about how the Americans are also good inside their defensive zone.
The host nation’s team is heavily stacked with firepower, names like Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk and Datsyuk, all players who can rip a game apart with a moment of brilliance.
For the most part, the Russians were neutralised by a disciplined American defensive effort.
Datsyuk scored twice, once on a breakaway, splitting two defensemen to go in on Quick all alone – it’s hard to stop the Magic Man from there.
The second came early in a third-period power play, when Quick was shielded by a towering Russian, and likely didn’t see the shot at all.
But overall, the Russian captain, used to wearing the red and white as a Detroit Red Wing, and his teammates were held well in check.
A lot of that was because of the Americans’ desire to block shots. Ryan Kesler was rocked by a shot in the second, and went to the bench for a time, but as painful as that was, no one felt more pain on this night than the referee who, unfortunately, took a puck to the crotch.
Largely, this was Quick’s win, and unless he melts down, Mikka Kiprusoff-style in a game later in the tournament, I don’t see Ryan Miller (2010 hero) getting a look-in.
In such a short tournament you go with your hot hand, and Team USA head coach Dan Bylsma would be crazy to yank Quick from between the pipes.
Considering most thought that Miller was the right man for the job, Quick’s performances in the opening two games for the Americans have been nothing short of spectacular.
The 2012 Stanley Cup champion is clearly in the groove at the moment, as Miller was in Vancouver four years ago, making a series of key saves at gigantic moments against the Russians.
Quick kept America in the game in the first period which decisively belonged to the host nation (though the scoreboard showed 0-0 after twenty minutes) and continued to stone the Russian attack throughout.
Late in the third, when the score was tied 2-2, Quick stood tall as wave after wave of Russian attackers tried to bury the puck in the American net.
At the other end, young Anaheim defenceman Cam Fowler and the powerful San Jose Shark forward Joe Pavelski netted power play goals against Russian goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
Pavelski’s goal came about from a wicked pass from Patrick Kane, whilst Alexander Radulov sat in the penalty box.
In years gone by, Radulov, who was in the penalty box on both American goals, might have had his ticket booked to Siberia as a result. These days, the worst that will likely happen is him listed as a healthy scratch in Russia’s next game.
There was a scare for Team USA in the dying stages of the final period of regulation when Fedor Tyutin’s mighty blast cannoned past Quick and into the net, sending the home crowd into rapturous excitement…only for the referees to determine (correctly) that the net had come off it’s moorings, thus negating the go-ahead tally.
True, the net was only fractionally off, but that hardly matters. A no-goal call gave the Americans life.
2-2 after regulation, and the tension inside the arena was as palpable as ever, particularly with the Russians starting the overtime period on the penalty kill.
Chicago’s Kane nearly ended it on a breakaway, but couldn’t get past Bobrovsky; he then had another chance nullified by the Russian net-minder with less than half a minute to go.
In the penalty shootout, Quick out-duelled Bobrovsky, and after eight tense rounds, with momentum swaying back and forth, both teams had good chances to end the game.
It was Russia’s Kovalchuk and Datsyuk firing at Quick, and the St Louis Blue Oshie exclusively taking on Bobrovsky in the late rounds (he converted four of six attempts, enough to earn congratulations from President Barack Obama via Twitter), eventually netting the game-winner, to send the pro-Russian crowd – President Vladimir Putin amongst them – to the aisles in disappointment.
A giant moment for the Americans, another message sent, and based on current form, there’s no reason to think that Zach Parise’s squad can’t give that Gold medal a real shake.
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