By: Tim Brennan
Once the schedule for the Olympics was released, everyone knew what game was going to be the most anticipated; that being a February 21st matchup between the host country, (and favorites going into the tournament) Canada, and the new look Americans. Usually a game between these two teams is tops on the list but there was plenty of fuel put on the fire because of Canada hosting the Olympics this year and the fact that they are considered the best team in the tournament and are favorites to win it all. These two countries can't stand each other when they lace them up and go on the ice and have been bitter rivals for as long as anyone can remember. As U.S. head coach Ron Wilson said earlier in the tournament, "We know that coming in here, we are the villains and the only people that are going to cheer for us are Americans."
There was no doubt that the Olympic coverage was constantly previewing what would take place during this game and how it would end up, with almost every correspondent siding with Canada. Boy were they in for a surprise!
The game started with an intense amount of emotion as the crowd was deafening, the pace was quick and swift and bodies were flying all over the ice. The Americans were the ones to get on the board first when defenseman Brian Rafalski picked up the puck at the point and fired a low shot that deflected off Canada's prized possession, Sidney Crosby's stick and in between the legs of goaltender Martin Brodeur. The U.S. got the first goal of the game just 41 seconds into the contest, giving them a boost in the early stages.
Canada would counter however with a tally from Eric Staal after Canada's Brent Seabrook kept the puck in the zone and handed it off to the goal scorer. What appeared to be a momentum shift in the Canadians favor after some quality chances led to a play that Martin Brodeur would want back. The puck came flying into the Canadian zone and the best puck handling goalie in the league came out and batted the puck forward, which led to Rafalski's second goal of the game and 4th of the Olympics. Not only was it an idiotic play, but it also led to a boost for the Americans emotionally as they got all over Canada through, as I will soon reveal, the entire game.
The second was a period controlled by strong defensive play and physically to set the tempo. The Canadians tied up the score as Dany Heatley found himself open in the slot with the U.S. defense scrambling. The U.S. went from a first period of only six shots (yet they scored two goals), to a second period of 13 and they limited Canada to 12 shots in the second as opposed to the 19 they allowed in the first. As the hits just kept on coming, the U.S. pulled ahead when several players battled out in front of Brodeur and the puck bounced around in the slot until Olympic veteran Chris Drury swooped in and buried the opportunity. After this goal, the U.S. added two breakaways by Dustin Brown and Bobby Ryan where Brodeur had to be sharp and make some important saves.
The Americans weren't able to capitalize on a power play early in the third but were given two more chances with the man advantage, ultimately leading to Jamie Langenbrunner's back breaker to make it 4-2 U.S.A. Brian Rafalski's wrister from the point deflected off of Langenbrunner ever so slightly and continued to deflect off of Brodeur's stick and in between his legs.
Even with the lead, the Americans needed to continue throwing the body and play smart defensively. They did a great job of keeping Canada from getting solid scoring chances until Crosby's power play tally that squeaked past Ryan Miller with 3 minutes and change left in the third period. Although the Canadians threw everything they could on the net, they were given the knockout blow when Vancouver's favorite American, Ryan Kesler, skated up to Corey Perry and poked the puck around him into the empty net to give the Americans a 5-3 lead, ultimately sealing the Canadians' fate.
This will go down as one of the most exciting USA/Canada matchups of all time and is a great achievement for the Americans as they were expected to be a middle of the road team and not necessarily a contender. The U.S. had a strong effort throughout the game; being physical every chance they got, utilizing their speed and creativity in the offensive zone, working hard and playing the Canadian players close in the defensive zone and the determination that they showed in wanted to beat the favored team. There is no doubt that U.S. goaltender Ryan Miller was the best player in this game, stopping 42 shots and making huge saves at pressure situations. There were far too many times to recall where the Canadians had a good scoring chance and each time were snuffed out by Miller. The Canadians had nothing to counteract the Americans overall strong game and were frustrated time and time again because of the effort shown by the U.S. players.
The Americans can use this excellent game to propel themselves into medal contention and nobody can take this performance away from them.
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