YOUNG GUNS STILL HAVE SOME GROWING UP TO DO
They have skill and speed, but will need structure, discipline to play top teams
They still might be the fastest team in the tournament. But slowly and surely, others are catching up.
It was inevitable, really. While there was an element of surprise for Team North America heading into the World Cup of Hockey, with Connor McDavid & Co. taking advantage of a slower and older Team Europe in back-toback exhibition game wins, the secret is now out.
As we saw in the team’s final exhibition game, a 3-2 grinding exhibition loss against Czech Republic on Wednesday at Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center, this collection of youngsters can no longer catch opponents off guard with their blinding speed, ridiculous skill and freewheeling style of play.
For them to advance past the round-robin portion of the tournament, which begins for North America with a game against Finland on Sunday, their play will have to be smarter and more physical. They will not only have to generate chances, but also limit their opponents. They need structure and discipline.
In other words, the kids have to grow up.
“I think it was a real eye-opener for us for the way the tournament is going to go,” said North America captain McDavid, who went without a point in three pre-tournament games. “We’re not going to play every game 7-4 or 4-0. It was a good test for us.”
Unlike Europe, which tried — and failed — to match North America’s speed and skill game, Czech Republic had a game plan to limit what made its opponent so dangerous. As assistant coach Vaclav Prospal said, “They have a lot of talent on that hockey team. The only way we can succeed is if we play in their zone.”
The Czechs got pucks deep. They finished hits. They play the type of physical, no-nonsense game that North America is going to see a lot more of when this tournament gets started and they face off in the round robin against Finland, Russia and Sweden.
“I think it’s good that we realized we have a lot of room to get better,” said defenceman Morgan Rielly. “When you play a team like that, they hit, they check you tight, and I think it’s good to get an experience like that before it gets for real ... it’s only going to get our team better.”
To North America’s credit, they finished the exhibition schedule with a 2-1 record, having outscored their opponents 13-7. There are wrinkles in their game that need to be ironed out. But the good sign for them is that even when they were pushed — giving up a 2-0 lead against the Czech Republic — the team had the personnel willing to push back.
“As a team, I think this was a wake-up call for us,” said Auston Matthews, who at 18 is the youngest player on the team. “Those first two games, maybe we had it too easy. I think today it forced us to play more of a man’s game.”
Down 2-0 in the third period, North America tied the game on goals from Shayne Gostisbehere and Matthews. It looked like they were going to complete the comeback, before Czech Republic’s Tomas Plekanec scored the game-winner on a fluke goal from the side of the net.
Even so, this was not a loss that exposed North America as one of the weaker teams in the tournament. If anything, it served as further warning of the potential firepower at their disposal.
North America outshot the Czechs 44-29. Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Scheifele each had a breakaway, and the team had seven power-play opportunities. If not for goaltender Michal Neuvirth, who was perfect on all 25 shots he faced before being pulled midway through the second period, this could have been a completely different outcome.
“I thought we got better as the night went on,” said head coach Todd McLellan. “We made a couple of critical mistakes that ended up in our net. Our team did respond, and we needed that.”
Still, there are concerns. While North America put up 13 goals in three games, McDavid did not record a goal or an assist. The power play, which went 1-for-7 on Wednesday, netted just two goals on a combined 2-for-12.
And then there is the defence — the biggest question mark heading into the tournament.
Even against two of the weaker offensive teams in the tournament, North America has had difficulty keeping the puck out of its zone. Goaltender Matt Murray kept Wednesday night’s game against the Czechs from getting out of hand, but can he do the same against Finland or Sweden or a Russian team that has Alex Ovechkin, Vladimir Tarasenko and Evgeni Malkin?
“Our whole pool is going to be tough, and we know that,” McLellan said.
“But we’re up for the challenge. We’ll throw everything we have at those teams and make them sweat a little bit.”