GO HARD OR GO HOME

Despite unbeaten start, coach Desjardins expects more, Rob Longley writes.

When the guys were trying to make the team, they were playing harder . ... Hopefully, we will get back to the team that’s ready to go and play hard again.

WILLIE DESJARDINS, Team Canada coach

With NHLers a world away — or between 14 to 17 time-zone hours, anyway — there is no clear favourite in an Olympic men’s hockey tournament crowded with uncertainty and letdown possibilities.

But Team Canada coach Willie Desjardins sure sounded adamant of one thing ahead of his team’s opener against Switzerland: The two-time defending Olympic champs need to give more than they have in the past couple of weeks if they are to both be competitive and win over fans back home.

“When the guys were trying to make the team, they were playing harder,” Desjardins said after a late afternoon practice at the Gangneung Hockey Centre. “Once they made it, they were worried about getting injured, so there was a bit of a lull.

“Hopefully, we will get back to the team that’s ready to go and play hard again.”

Somewhat harsh words from the former Vancouver Canucks coach, but it’s clear Desjardins hasn’t seen enough in the team’s three pretournament games, even though all were victories.

There are concerns as to where the scoring will come from, and of course Hockey Canada management is well aware of the scrutiny with which the tournament will be watched in Canada. And without a team blessed with natural offence, their best chance to advance to the medal round will be with big effort all over the ice and solid defence.

And then there is the pressure. Canadian hockey fans are sure to be restless while countless NHLers have gone public with their disdain at the NHL’s choice to retract from the most meaningful best-on-best tournament in the world.

Instead, we’ll get 25 mostly unheralded players — the majority of them in their 30s and run out of NHL chances. Most will almost certainly be feeling the pressure to perform on the ice here and please an audience back in Canada.

“I think it’s hard to say,” Desjardins said when asked how Canadians will react to a team full of first-time Olympians.

“There are some fans in Canada that are disappointed the NHL players aren’t playing. I think it’s up to us. If we play hard, I think they will support us. If we are a team that doesn’t play hard, we won’t get the support.”

Among the issues facing Desjardins and the Team Canada management group headed by general manager Sean Burke is the mystery of where goals will come from. There are not enough natural scorers in the lineup, certainly a void coach Mike Babcock didn’t need to worry about the past two Olympics.

After facing the Swiss in their opener, the Canadians take on the Czech Republic and South Korea in further group-round play.

“I think we’ll probably score by committee,” forward Christian Thomas said when asked where the offence is likely to come from. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can put the puck in the net, whether it’s around the net and rebounds and use their body in front or guys that are making good shots out there.”

Again not bubbling over with enthusiasm, Desjardins believes his team faces the added handicap of not having much pre-tournament time together. Essentially he’s been limited to just three practices and one exhibition game, hardly enough time to implement systems.

“I think there are some challenges for some of the countries that haven’t had guys together for the world championships,” Desjardins said while acknowledging in-game adjustments will be important. “You just haven’t seen your guys that much. The (lineup) you start may not be the way you finish.”