No signs of slowing
Beating Canada will require something special from Europe
It will take an upset of monumental proportion for Team Europe to edge Canada twice in the best-of-three World Cup of Hockey final.
Here are five things to consider about the matchup:
1. Can anyone contain Sidney Crosby?
So far the answer has been a resounding no.
Crosby has hovered in his own space at the World Cup, one step (and sometimes two) ahead of every opponent.
He’s scored the first goal in three of Canada’s four wins, mustering at least a point in every game but one. The 29-yearold leads the World Cup with seven points, including a hearty three-point performance against Russia in the tournament semifinals.
European head coach Ralph Krueger will have to employ either Roman Josi and Dennis Seidenberg against the Crosby unit or the aging duo of Zdeno Chara and Andrej Sekera.
Either way, the matchup favours Canada.
2. Slowing Crosby is just the start
Even if Europe manages to contain Crosby, Canada still has three other tough lines to tangle with.
Ryan Getzlaf, John Tavares and Steven Stamkos were an especially heavy force against Russia, finally breaking through against Sergei Bobrovsky with Tavares’ first goal of the tournament in the third period. Held without a goal so far, Stamkos looks to be due. The Tampa Bay Lightning captain had a fine one-time chance against Bobrovsky that was ultimately denied.
Jonathan Toews, Corey Perry and Logan Couture will likely be tasked with shutting down Europe’s top line of Anze Kopitar, Marian Hossa and Tomas Tatar, but they’re hardly slouches in the offensive end. Toews and Couture both have four points and Perry’s scored a pair of goals.
Matt Duchene has two goals and four points to lead Canada’s fourth line.
Ten players have at least a goal and all but two of the regulars (Claude Giroux and Jake Muzzin played only a game each) have at least a point.
3. Europe will need some magic to beat Canada twice
More than six years have ticked by since Canada lost even once in a best-on-best format. Beating the Canadians twice seems like a tall, near impossible task for Europe.
Canada has outscored foes 19-6, outshot them 44-29 on average and trailed twice in four games – once for 89 seconds, the second time for one minute and 12 seconds against Russia.
This is a powerhouse which has shown no signs of slowing so far.
4. Halak must outplay Price – twice
Jaroslav Halak will likely need two heroic performances to give his team any kind of chance against the Canadians.
He made 42 saves in the preliminary round defeat, sturdy certainly just not quite to the level required for victory.
Sergei Bobrovsky offered a 40-minute demonstration of the kind of performance Halak will need not only once but twice for Europe to somehow upset Canada. Bobrovsky stopped 31-of-33 shots over the first two periods, turning back chance after chance before the Canadians eventually pushed through in the third.
Beating Canada will require at least three and maybe four goals on Carey Price, who’s stopped 92 of 97 shots at the World Cup so far.
5. Europe is playing for eight nations
Representing eight different countries, the Europeans are playing for something other than national pride. Or so it would seem.
“We’ve said from the start, ‘Play for your countries. When you hear the Swedish anthem, it’s yours. When you hear the Czech anthem, it’s yours. When you hear the Canadian anthem, it’s yours,’” Krueger explained. “And the players have bought into that. The only thing we’ve asked them to do is connect on the ice. So when you go out on the ice, connect. Play together, play together with the puck, play together without the puck, fight for each other, but play for your countries, and it’s taken us a long way.”