SWISS MISS

Photo Credit: Larry Wong - Canwest News Service

Dany Heatley celebrates the first goal of the game as Switzerland battles Canada to the bitter end


Canadians residents can breathe easy now, but for a period of hockey, an overtime, and a shootout, their hockey team was almost dealt an unexpected loss to Team Switzerland in day 2 of pool play of the Olympics.

After Roberto Luongo shutout Team Norway in the opening game of pool play, Team Canada Head Coach elected to go with Devils goalie Martin Brodeur to face the Swiss. Things were looking good after Canada jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 2nd period thanks to goals from San Jose Sharks Dany Heatley (3rd goal of the tournament) and Patrick Marleau. Team Switzerland would fight back with goals from Ivo Ruthemann (who beat Brodeur high glove side) and then Patrick Von Guten's tally (the puck deflected off of Marleau in front of his own net) with 10 seconds remaining in the 2nd period.

The Canadians dominated the Swiss 18-3 on shots in the 3rd period, but Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller turned away every one of them (45 saves total). After the overtime session, both Brodeur and Hiller would stop all three attempts. When they went to the additonal shooters, Sidney Crosby (remember, in the Olympics, after the first three shooters, you can use the same guy over and over again, unlike the NHL), Crosby fired one past Hiller for the win. Canada is now 2-2 all-time in shootouts at the Olympics.

Next up for the Swiss is Norway while the Canadians take on the United States on Sunday.

NOTES - Jarome Iginla left the ice dazed in the 2nd period after a Raffaele Sannitz hit and did not return. Sidney Crosby took an Andres Ambuhl stick to the face in the 3rd period and left the ice bleeding but returned shortly after.


If I'm a Team Canada fan, this game was certainly more of a scare than I wanted, but this was probably one of the best things that could have happened to Crosby and co. No one doubted Canada would beat Norway handidly, but the Swiss aren't a team that can be walked over like some of the other non-favorites. Jonas Hiller is a very good goalie (hence the Anaheim Ducks extended his contract four years just a few weeks ago) and when you have a hot goalie, you're capabale of beating any team. This game definitely serves as a wake up call to Team Canada that they can't play like this in any other game the rest of the tournament. In the same breath, give Switzerland credit. They played USA and Canada tough. They know when to attack, when to sit back, and should beat the Norwegians with no problem. I wouldn't want any part of the Swiss in the playoff round.


United States 6 - Norway 1

This is a misleading score as Brian Rafalski scored two late goals to give the Americans the inflated win. USA did have a 3-0 lead at the 5:32 mark of the 2nd period thanks to a Patrick Kane goal. But the Norwegians made the US sweat in the 2nd period as Marius Holtet scored a shorthanded goal and continued to barrage US goalie Ryan Miller to make it 3-1 heading in to the intermission. (Phil Kessel, Chris Drury, and Ryan Malone scored the other goals for Team USA)

If the US plays the way they played in the first two games, Team Canada will dominate the Americans in the last game of Pool A play. The US has had it's moments where it's looked absolutely dominant, but it has come against the Norwegians (one of the 3 worst teams in the Olympics), and a tough, but overmatched Swiss team. Ron Wilson moving Jamie Langenbrunner to the top line to play with Zach Parise and Paul Stastny was his first smart move (Parirse and Langenbrunner are linemates for the Devils) and moving Kane to play with Ryan Kesler and Bobby Ryan, giving the team scoring depth. The next step for Wilson is to figure out the United States' offensive problems. Yes they've scored nine goals in two games, but the Americans haven't been able to possess the puck for too long and keep the other team on it's heals in the attack zone. If they can't do that against Norway and Switzerland, what's to be expected against an all-world team like Canada.

Slovakia 2 - Russia 1 (SO)

In the second consecutive game to go to a shootout in these Olympics, it was the underdog that pulled through for the win this time. Pavol Demitra scored in the seventh round of the shootout to help the Slovaks past Alex Ovechkin and Russia 2-1 on Thursday. Russia's captain, Alexei Morozov opened the scoring in the 2nd period, but Marian Hossa would tie the game at 9:48 of the 3rd period. The goaltending would be the story in this game as Jaroslav Halak rebounded from a 3-1 loss to the Czech Republic with 36 saves while Ilya Bryzgalov (who got the start over Evgeni Nabokov) made 31 saves in the loss. The Russians get a long break, not playing again until Sunday against the Czech Republic while Slovakia faces Latvia on Saturday.

The Slovakian team was my dark horse team at the beginning of the tournament and they looked a lot more like it last night than they did in the first game. The Slovaks seemed tentative against the Czechs in their first game but they hung with Russia throughout the game. It was physical on both sides (did you see that Ovechkin blast of Chara?) and Jaroslav Halak showed why Carey Price's playing time in Montreal has dwindled this season. If Gaborik's knee laceration doesn't continue to bother him, the Slovaks can go far in this tournament (sounds like a scouting report of the Rangers) As good as the Russian team is, they are in the toughest pool and Sunday's game against the Czechs now becomes a must win. Ovechkin and his comrades are too talented and have too much of a chip on their shoulder to let this game affect them beyond last night.

TODAY'S SCHEDULE:

3PM - Sweden (1-0-0-0) vs. Belarus (0-1-0-0)
7:30PM - Latvia (0-1-0-0) vs. Czech Republic (1-0-0-0)
Midnight - Germany (0-1-0-0) vs. Finland (1-0-0-0) - GAME OF THE DAY

*All times Eastern

Hail To The King!

Photo taken by Chris Bournoncle AFP/Getty Images

Lundqvist Posts Shutout as Sweden Takes Opener

In their first game of these Olympics, Team Sweden took their first step towards defending their gold medal by beating Germany 2-0, despite a sluggish jump out of the starting gate.

Henrik Lundqvist registered his first Olympic shutout, stopping all 21 shots he faced. He had a little help from the goal posts as Germany fired a couple of dingers to open up the second period. Shortly thereafter, Sweden’s Mattias Ohlund fired a shot from the left circle that found its way past German net minder Thomas Greiss, to put the Swedes up 1-0 at 4:20. Tobias Enstrom and Mattias Weinhandl assisted with the goal, but a third assist should have been given to Daniel Sedin.

A hometown hero of sorts, the Vancouver Canucks star sprinted towards the front of the net to screen Greiss hindering his chances to make the save. Despite Greiss’ protest that Sedin should have been called for interference, the power play goal stood up and turned out to be the game winner in a contest that saw one successful power play in exactly 40 penalty minutes.

"At the beginning of the game, we were nervous and anxious," said Lundqvist of the Swedes lethargic start, "But we didn't panic."

Loui Eriksson added an insurance goal at 14:13 of the second after tapping in a pass from Nicklas Backstrom from the left side of the net. Despite playing well defensively, Germany had a 5-on-3 power play that they couldn’t convert on.

"It was a couple inches away from being a different game," Ehrhoff said of his second period shot that hit the goal post. "That was a key moment because after that, they scored on the power play."

Sweden’s next game is Friday against Belarus at 3 p.m. while Germany takes on Finland in the night cap.

He’s Baaaack! Jagr Nets Game Winner as The Czech Republic Downs Slovakia 3-1

Jaromir Jagr scored the game winner as the Czech Republic topped their former brethren of Slovakia, 3-1 in their Olympic opener. Reminiscent of the days if when he was in his NHL prime with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Jagr scored at 17:56 of the second period and just two minutes later, he helped set up Tomas Plekanic’s insurance tally.

Jagr, who recently turned 38 years old shrugged off a slow start to get his team to victory. "It was tough for me," he said, grinning. "I felt like a soldier in Iraq for the first 20 minutes. Things were coming at me so fast from every direction. It's different hockey. I've got to get used to it again."

Marian Gaborik scored the lone goal for Slovakia, despite playing with an injury he sustained in practice last week when he was cut by Henrik Lundqvist’s skate. Tomas Vokoun stopped 23 shots including a one-on-one try from former NHL star Ziggy Palffy five minutes into the game that got the crowd at Canada Hockey Place going.

The Czech Republic gets a breather as they take on Latvia Friday afternoon while Slovakia is back on the ice tonight to do battle with Alexander Ovechkin and the mighty Russian juggernauts.

Fins, Hagman Crush Belarus

Niklas Hagman’s two goals helped power Finland to a 5-1 victory over Belarus in the Olympic opener for both teams. Finland goalie Mikka Kiprusoff stopped 11 of the 12 shots he faced, while Finland assaulted Belarus goalie Vitali Koval with 41 shots of its own. Olli Jokinen opened the scoring with a power play goal 3:24 into the game. Valtteri Filppula and Jarkko Ruutu also added goals for the Fins while Sergei Kostitsyn scored the lone goal for Belarus.

Information from NBCOlympics.com, Vancouver2010.com and THN.com was used in this article.

THURSDAY'S SCHEDULE

USA vs. Norway 3:00 p.m. EST
Canada vs. Switzerland 7:30 p.m. EST
Slovakia vs. Russia Midnight EST

Team USA Debuts in Vancouver

photo credit: USA Hockey/Getty Images

SO-SO DEBUT FOR RED, WHITE, & BLUE

U.S. keeps Switzerland at bay for 3-1 win

It was the type of game we should have expected. In its Vancouver debut, after roughly 36 hours in town, the U.S. Olympic hockey alternated between solid and shaky play in its 3-1 defeat of Switzerland Tuesday afternoon.

The good was goals from Bobby Ryan, David Backes and Ryan Malone, and 14 saves from Ryan Miller. The Americans outshot the Swiss, 24-15, and outhit them for most of the afternoon. But mental lapses, especially from defensemen unfamiliar with each other, kept this one interesting until the end.

Ryan’s goal at 18:59 of the first period propelled the Americans into their best stretch of the day – the first 10 minutes of the second.

“You definitely don’t want to come from behind early,” Ryan said. “To get the lead, I think it settled the game down quite a bit for us.”

After a sprawling save by Miller, Backes picked up the puck and drove the entire left wing. He buried his shoulder and came in on Hiller on his backhand, then pulled the puck across the top of the Swiss crease and jammed it in.

Less than three minutes later, Malone forced the puck out of a scrum and through Hiller for a 3-0 bulge with 11:35 left in the second. Ryan Suter started the sequence with a blue line wrister, and Joe Pavelski created the pile-up in front by setting a perfect screen in Hiller’s lap.

But that’s when the Americans seemed to relax a bit against a relatively talented Swiss team. Hiller and Islander defenseman Mark Streit are the only full-time NHLers on the roster, but all the players are very familiar with each other. Switzerland plays the same style on all levels of international play. And the non-NHL participants prepared together in Europe before arriving in Vancouver.

Most of the American issues in the latter half of the game arose from d-men pinching at the wrong times, leading to odd-man rushes against Miller. Luckily for him, Switzerland’s struggled to overcome its lack of top-end offensive talent.

Julien Sprunger came free down the slot on a 2-on-1 shortly after Malone’s goal. Miller could not come over fast enough, so most of the net was wide open, but Sprunger sailed the puck over the crossbar and off the glass.

Other opportunities ended with shots right into Miller’s midsection. When necessary, though, he made the acrobatic save to stymie the Swiss comeback.

The lone puck to beat Miller came when he deflected a centering pass back through himself.

Burke and Wilson will also enjoy the fact that all three goals came from lines other than the top one of Patrick Kane, Zach Parise and Paul Stastny. The trio played well, but never beat Hiller.

The U.S. is back on the ice Thursday at 3pm ET against Norway.

***

The Norwegians survived the first period Thursday night against Canada, but the host country finally overwhelmed the visitors in the second period. Jarome Iginla (power-play), Dany Heatley and Mike Richards solved Pal Grotnes in the middle stanza. Five more goals in the third period completed the 8-0 whitewash. Iginla added two more goals in the third for the hat trick.

***

Russia began its tournament with an 8-2 beatdown of Latvia. Alex Ovechkin scored twice and Sergei Fedorov added a pair of assists.

***

Wednesday's Schedule (all times are Eastern)

3:00pm Finland-Belarus

7:30pm Sweden-Germany

12:00am Czech Republic-Slovakia

From The Slot RETURNS!

After a VERY long and unexpected hiatus, FTS returns to give you daily and complete coverage from the NHL and the hockey world. Adam Bernard, Andrew Bogusch, & Chris Carrano will catch you up on the daily happenings from on and off the rink. To kick off our return, we have provided how we think the 12 Olympic hockey teams will finish in this year's Olympics in Vancouver.

Adam Bernard:

1) USA
2) Russia
3) Sweden
4) Canada
5) Finland
6) Slovakia
7) Czech Republic
8) Switzerland
9) Germany
10) Belarus
11) Norway
12) Latvia

Andrew Bogusch:

1) Canada
2) Russia
3) Sweden
4) USA
5) Finland
6) Czech Republic
7) Switzerland
8) Slovakia
9) Germany
10) Latvia
11) Belarus
12) Norway

Chris Carrano:

1) Russia
2) Canada
3) Sweden
4) USA
5) Finland
6) Czech Republic
7) Slovakia
8) Germany
9) Switzerland
10) Latvia
11) Belarus
12) Norway

We'll giving you a daily update on the hockey happenings in Vancouver.

Stay tuned for plenty more from FTS