My Two Cents: Team Canada’s Classic Journey, Team USA’s Classic Fall

Medal Round Disaster

Team USA’s Phil Kessel tries to maneuver with the puck around Marc-Edouard Vlasic of Team Canada. Mandatory Credit: USA Today Sports Images.

Once Team USA reached the medal round, the entire tournament changed, and not for the better.

In two games against Canada and Finland, Team USA was beaten physically, fundamentally and just perhaps even psychologically as well. The problem with Team USA was not the players; they are amongst the best in the world. It doesn’t lie with the coaching either. Dan Bylsma is a Stanley Cup winning coach who was probably as perplexed as anyone by Team USA’s medal round performance. Neither the coaching staff nor the trainers are to blame either. If you looking to blame Team USA goalie Jonathan Quick, you’re just wasting your time. He had no goals to work with, and was gassed by the time the Bronze medal game against Finland rolled around.

If not for Quick, the USA does not lose 1-0 to Canada; they probably lose by four or five goals…easily. Canada may have only won by 1-0, but it was probably the most dominant 1-0 win by a team in any sport ever played. The only true scoring chances for Team USA came early in the first period. Once those chances evaporated, Canada assumed complete control of the game and Team USA was a step behind for the rest of the contest.

Against Finland, Team USA was clearly spent and the game was over early in the second period after Teemu Selanne and Jussi Jokinen scored 11 seconds apart following a failed USA power play. The Bronze Medal Game could have been summed up by simply saying that,“If this was a prize fight, they would have stopped it.”…and they would have too as Team USA was clearly knocked out.

To Team USA’s credit, the players gave it their all and this was not due to a lack of effort on anyone’s part. What more could have asked of a number of the players on the roster? The problem with Team USA also has nothing to do with who they didn’t pick, such as former Anaheim Duck Bobby Ryan. Ryan is a very solid player and would have been a nice addition to Team USA. Their fall had nothing to do with Ryan not being there, and the outcome would not have been any different in all likelihood.

What it comes down to is a few things.

First, one of the things to keep in mind is that national teams such as Canada, Sweden, Finland and Russia are far more exposed to international competition and have all developed solid national programs as the end result. If you look at the roster of Team Canada and the other teams in the medal rounds — and throw in Russia for good measure — their players are used to the larger rinks and the faster game. Team USA had a good philosophy and approach going in and even executed their game plans early in the tournament effectively.

Once they got to the medal round, however, it was a different story altogether. In Canada and Finland, these programs have seen the type of hockey Team USA was playing before. In both cases, they knew how to address and counter Team USA’s game plan. Canada defensively was able to shut down Team USA by controlling the game and the puck, and often times effectively shutting down any USA attack in the neutral zone. If you can’t get the puck into enemy territory, your scoring chances will be all but non-existent. The reason Team USA still had a chance in the game at all was because of Quick’s goaltending keeping them in it. He did all he could and fulfilled his obligation.

Against Finland, Quick simply was out of gas by the third period. The rest of the team clearly was done with this tournament and ready to go home. That emotion in as much as anything contributed to Team USA leaving the games empty handed. You can look at the fact Patrick Kane missed on two penalty shots and probably should have scored on at least one of them. Part of that was because of Finnish goalie Tuukka Rask was ready and was in decent position on one of the shots. Also, penalty shots are rare to begin with, and you have to make them whenever you get them.

Another key for Team Finland may have also been the emotion of Selanne with maybe his final game as an Olympian with his team wanting to win the game for him. Team Finland probably wanted the game a lot more than Team USA did, all truth be told. Finland has medaled more than any other nation over the last 30 years of Olympic tournament hockey, and is always grateful for the hardware they get, even if it’s not gold (which is something a lot of nations could stand to learn from, to be quite frank about it).

The final thing to consider is that if not for a waved-off goal by Russia late in the third period against Team USA, there is at least a decent chance that it’s Russia who is in the final four and the medal round, instead of the USA.

In the end, Team USA’s journey in the 2014 Sochi Olympics is as equally disappointing as Russia’s was though perhaps for different reasons. Team USA should have no regrets about their win against Russia as they clearly played their best game here. However, the medal round is a place where in the end (like it or not) the cream will always rise to the top, and the USA has no exemption there one way or the other.