Former NHLers deliver as Canada blasts Swiss
Bourque, Roy lead the way as team opens tournament with one-sided tilt
General manager Sean Burke and coach Willie Desjardins don’t need the equivalent of a full, productive season from two of the Team Canada players that were among the closest to being NHL stars.
In fact, the Canadians need less than two weeks from all involved.
But with the play of Rene Bourque (he of 725 NHL games and 163 goals) and Derek Roy (738 games, 189 goals), the two-time defending champs got off to a solid start in an Olympic hockey tournament loaded with unknowns.
Bourque scored a pair of goals, while Roy had three assists and was one of the few players on either team to show poise with the puck as Canada cruised to a 5-1 win over Switzerland.
It was a game Canada was expected to win, but with so many question marks and so little time to prepare, it was an impressive debut.
“Starting out like that and getting a goal early (Bourque’s first of the game just 2:57 in) really gave us a boost,” Roy said. “There was a little bit of nerves at the beginning, but once we scored that goal, everybody eased back and played the game.”
Roy understands that with the mixed bag of players on this team, NHL-hardened types like himself and Bourque will be counted on for a bigger role. He’s fine with that assignment, recognizing that this may be the final chance in his career for such a big moment.
“Every night, I’m trying to be the best player on the ice,” said Roy, the 34-year-old native of Rockland, Ont. “It doesn’t matter what league I’m playing in. If it’s being a leader by example, then that’s what it is. I’m just trying to go out and do my thing to help my team win a hockey game.”
The Canadians got plenty of that from Bourque, as well. Playing a dominant game down low, he got Canada on the board by deflecting a shot by Chris Lee, then gave Canada a 3-0 lead when he seized the puck in front of the Swiss net and converted.
“We’re all playing for each other and it was a great team effort,” said Lee, a native of Mactier, Ont., who is one of two players on the team to never play in the NHL. “It was nice to get rewarded for hard work.
“Bourque is a beast down low. Just to see him get rewarded for his hard work is pretty cool.”
The Olympic experience was new to all of the Canadian team, including Bourque, who couldn’t stop to detail his exploits because he had a post-game date with doping control.
Wojtek Wolski also scored two for Canada, one of them into an empty net, with the other goal going to defenceman Maxim Noreau.
Ben Scrivens got the start in the Canadian net and made 27 saves.
Next up for the Canadians is a Saturday date against the Czech Republic.