Official "USA is going to win the gold in hockey" thread

[Dukasaur]

1-Canada
2-Finland
3-Sweden
4-Russia
5-USA
6-Czech Republic
7-Slovakia
8-Switzerland
9-Norway
10-Latvia
11-Austria
12-Slovenia

1-Russia
2-Canada
3-Sweden
4-USA
5-Finland
6-Czech Republic
7-Slovakia
8-Switzerland
9-Norway
10-Latvia
11-Austria
12-Slovenia

I put Slovakia ahead of Switzerland. Other than that, it looks pretty plausible to me.

I win gold.

I was wrong on almost every game....

[notyou2]

I had bronze and silver reversed, as well as some other placings wrong.

[denominator]

That was a dominant game to cap off a dominant tournament. The Swedes looked good for the first 10 minutes, then it was all Canada. It was the first game the Canadians played at this pace, so their hands and passes were a bit slow, but once they caught up it was all over.

Back to back shutouts for Price in the two biggest games against two top teams. Only 3 goals given up in 5 games - it's hard to imagine a more dominant performance. I thought they might go with Luongo after the shutout over Austria, but was glad to see they stuck with Price.

I think the best selections by Yzerman were Benn, Vlasic, and Duchene. You build a team of "superstars" that don't have a work ethic and they end up fizzling like the Americans. The Getzlaf/Perry/Benn line was easily the best on the team, and Vlasic/Doughty pairing was great (although it's hard to find fault in Weber/Keith). If I was the general manager of the Ducks, I would be placing some calls to Dallas pretty quickly.

[TheProwler]

Crosby got the first star for the gold medal game....that is so wrong.

[notyou2]

Crosby got the first star for the gold medal game....that is so wrong.

Was it electric green? I get a lot of those.

[NoSurvivors]

Crosby got the first star for the gold medal game....that is so wrong.

He scored one game the whole tournament... Lame.

[TheProwler]

Crosby got the first star for the gold medal game....that is so wrong.

He scored one game the whole tournament... Lame.

He did play better in the last game, but he was by no means the best player in the game. He coughed-up the puck with brutal passes multiple times. He was outworked/outmatched in the corners 90% of the time.

He was a no-show in the last Olympics too...just happened to get the big goal in the gold medal game and that's what everyone remembers. I don't like the guy and it pisses me off when he is praised when he doesn't deserve it.

[notyou2]

Crosby got the first star for the gold medal game....that is so wrong.

He scored one game the whole tournament... Lame.

He did play better in the last game, but he was by no means the best player in the game. He coughed-up the puck with brutal passes multiple times. He was outworked/outmatched in the corners 90% of the time.

He was a no-show in the last Olympics too...just happened to get the big goal in the gold medal game and that's what everyone remembers. I don't like the guy and it pisses me off when he is praised when he doesn't deserve it.

He is actually quite humble, not sure why you dislike him so much. I think he is overrated, but nevertheless a very talented player, and I think he is a great role model for the kids. Is it his fault the media and the game have made him more than he is?

[denominator]

Crosby got the first star for the gold medal game....that is so wrong.

He scored one game the whole tournament... Lame.

He did play better in the last game, but he was by no means the best player in the game. He coughed-up the puck with brutal passes multiple times. He was outworked/outmatched in the corners 90% of the time.

He was a no-show in the last Olympics too...just happened to get the big goal in the gold medal game and that's what everyone remembers. I don't like the guy and it pisses me off when he is praised when he doesn't deserve it.

He is actually quite humble, not sure why you dislike him so much. I think he is overrated, but nevertheless a very talented player, and I think he is a great role model for the kids. Is it his fault the media and the game have made him more than he is?

I agree... I have always seen him as over-rated. I was disappointed to see given the captaincy given players such as Toews, Getzlaf, Weber, Bergeron, Bouwmeester, etc. But I do give Crosby full credit for being humble, not seeking out attention, and focusing on his game (as Don Cherry would say, "a good Canadian kid!").

I also think that even though he wasn't producing, he fell into his role on the team dropping from first to second line (the Getzlaf/Perry/Benn line being the top line). You also have to consider that in a tournament like this, the opposing team is ALWAYS going to be matching its top defence pair and best checking line against whatever line Crosby is on. So on teams like Sweden, Finland, and Austria, who really only have one shutdown pair, they're matching Crosby every time. The other lines have significantly easier oppositions.

I would have liked to have seen Duchene put on a line with Crosby at some point. He was making great passes in most games and it would have worked better with the speed of Duchene than the stone hands of Kunitz.

[TheProwler]

I don't consider him humble at all. When an interviewer says "You're the best hockey player in the world, why are they having such a hard time finding other players to play with you?" (or something like that), he just nods and gives his answer...I know it's an uncomfortable question, but I saw no humility at all in the way he answered...

I don't like the way he whines to the refs either. Maybe I'm sensitive to that, being a referee myself...but he bugs me.

I think the other teams stopped matching him with their best defensive pairing after the first period of the tournament...

He's obviously an excellent player...he just isn't a standout when playing with other excellent players. And the true great players standout whomever they play with...

[AslanTheKing]

Great Game,
i dont think russia will win the goldmedal, neither Usa,
my bet is canada

i knew it before everyone else
clap clap
premium won for 3 month, great

[Gillipig]

You also have to consider that in a tournament like this, the opposing team is ALWAYS going to be matching its top defence pair and best checking line against whatever line Crosby is on.

This is very true, it wasn't just he who struggled it was the entire first line. If Crosby had been having trouble but Kunitz was pouring in points it would make sense to single out Crosby.

[keiths31]

You also have to consider that in a tournament like this, the opposing team is ALWAYS going to be matching its top defence pair and best checking line against whatever line Crosby is on.

This is very true, it wasn't just he who struggled it was the entire first line. If Crosby had been having trouble but Kunitz was pouring in points it would make sense to single out Crosby.

Funny. Towes didn't score a goal until the final game, but yet his play was never questioned. He played hard and shut down the opposition. Crosby doesn't score a goal until the last game, but he played hard and shut down the opposition, but yet his play is questioned? I think too many just like to hate on Crosby because he is Crosby.

[notyou2]

You also have to consider that in a tournament like this, the opposing team is ALWAYS going to be matching its top defence pair and best checking line against whatever line Crosby is on.

This is very true, it wasn't just he who struggled it was the entire first line. If Crosby had been having trouble but Kunitz was pouring in points it would make sense to single out Crosby.

Funny. Towes didn't score a goal until the final game, but yet his play was never questioned. He played hard and shut down the opposition. Crosby doesn't score a goal until the last game, but he played hard and shut down the opposition, but yet his play is questioned? I think too many just like to hate on Crosby because he is Crosby.

I agree but he may have brought some of that on by whining, however, I think expectations are higher for him whether deserved or not.

[TheProwler]

Funny. Towes didn't score a goal until the final game, but yet his play was never questioned. He played hard and shut down the opposition. Crosby doesn't score a goal until the last game, but he played hard and shut down the opposition, but yet his play is questioned? I think too many just like to hate on Crosby because he is Crosby.

I think Towes played a better defensive game and I think he provided better forechecking than Crosby. To me, he seemed to give a better effort.

You are absolutely right about me being biased against Crosby. Part of it is a reaction to those who are biased for him, though.

[keiths31]

Funny. Towes didn't score a goal until the final game, but yet his play was never questioned. He played hard and shut down the opposition. Crosby doesn't score a goal until the last game, but he played hard and shut down the opposition, but yet his play is questioned? I think too many just like to hate on Crosby because he is Crosby.

I think Towes played a better defensive game and I think he provided better forechecking than Crosby. To me, he seemed to give a better effort.

You are absolutely right about me being biased against Crosby. Part of it is a reaction to those who are biased for him, though.

Safe to assume that if he signed with your favourite team...you'd like him quite a bit more?

[Gillipig]

Funny. Towes didn't score a goal until the final game, but yet his play was never questioned. He played hard and shut down the opposition. Crosby doesn't score a goal until the last game, but he played hard and shut down the opposition, but yet his play is questioned? I think too many just like to hate on Crosby because he is Crosby.

I think Towes played a better defensive game and I think he provided better forechecking than Crosby. To me, he seemed to give a better effort.

You are absolutely right about me being biased against Crosby. Part of it is a reaction to those who are biased for him, though.

Safe to assume that if he signed with your favourite team...you'd like him quite a bit more?

My guess is he'd stop cheering for his team if that ever happened.

[TheProwler]

I don't even want to think about it...but since he's Canadian, I don't think it will ever happen anyways. I root for The Leafs.


They might go after him when he's in his 40's...

[Timminz]

I don't even want to think about it...but since he's Canadian, I don't think it will ever happen anyways. I root for The Leafs.


They might go after him when he's in his 40's...

The Leafs have the most Canadians of any team in the NHL.

Click image to enlarge.

[TheProwler]

I don't even want to think about it...but since he's Canadian, I don't think it will ever happen anyways. I root for The Leafs.


They might go after him when he's in his 40's...

The Leafs have the most Canadians of any team in the NHL.

Yeah, and 6 Non-Canadians.


It makes it tough to cheer for them.

[Army of GOD]

And that's why they haven't won the cup in 5 billion years

[TheProwler]

And that's why they haven't won the cup in 5 billion years

If you look at the country-by-country scoring statistics for Stanley Cup Playoff games, you would see that Canadians dominate at a rate that is disproportionately higher than their domination of the number of players.


The Leafs have a lot of problems that other teams don't have to deal with....at least not at the same level. I bet Phil Kessel and JVR liked the Olympics because it gave them a break from all the pressure...

[notyou2]

The Olympics ended.

[denominator]

The Olympics ended.

I noticed.

I went to the Flames/Kings game last night... definitely a step down from the Olympics. Considering Team Canada could only get one past Quick, it wasn't surprising that the Flames couldn't get any.