PGT: 9/18/16 North America vs Finland - North America 4 Finland 1 F

[scan15*]

lol, here we can do this for matthews too.

Good shot, decent speed, good vision. A solid prospect, just severely over hyped.

That doesn't make it true though.

Except one is true and one isn't.

The thing about Laine is that his shot stands out as elite. Everything else is average or above average.

That still makes him a probable 30-35 goal scorer though.

 

[The Gloaming]

those were exabition games against Europe they don't count for anything. and I meant get punched in the face figuratively not litarally . tonight the play Russia who will be fighting for their lives. I wanna see them face some adversity and some push back. its not a knock but I think if it gets chippy like Canada vs u.s they will struggle.

Sure I want to see them against Russia and better competition. I just think that with their speed and skill, they can take on anyone. This might be the fastest hockey team ever assembled.

 

[Curufinwe]

Their goalie and PK looked really good against the Czechs.

 

[Dris]

The Finland defense played like darlings...and the forwards were comprehensively outplayed

The czechs did not do any miracle the other day to beat NA...

 

[BlitzSnipe]

Russia better not play like they did yesterday. If the North American team can beat the Finns this comfortably, they're a force to be reckoned with.

 

[Dris]

Russia better not play like they did yesterday. If the North American team can beat the Finns this comfortably, they're a force to be reckoned with.

After watching Russia play with Sweden I don't think Orlov, Zaitsev or Markov would be as "nice and gentle" as for instance Mäatta or Pokka last night... besides, the russian team has speed and skill of their own to burn for the open free-flowing broken play of last night.

 

[The Gloaming]

Their goalie and PK looked really good against the Czechs.

Because if the speed wasn't enough, team NA's goalie just backstopped his team to a Cup this summer.

 

[Divine]

all the Canadians on team n.a have played together on u18 u20 and wjc. same with the American players. team europe has never played together finished Olympic qualifying then flew overseas. these were meaningless games for a veteran team to get up for but the second half of the second game and the following game they were so much better. did team n.a win. yes. who cares pre tournament then the lost to the team that got blown out by Canada. great they then beat the worst team in tournament. I'm not going to put them in the final like some people I need to see a lot more.

So you're telling me, there's no teammates on team Europe? No fellow countrymen? Is every player on the roster from a different country, and different NHL team? They've never seen each other their entire life?

There's very few people on that team (if any) that hasn't played with at least one other member during their career. I don't know what your problem is. Team NA beats Europe twice, then beats Finland... and your excuse is every team that plays them sucks.

 

[Divine]

The Finland defense played like darlings...and the forwards were comprehensively outplayed

The czechs did not do any miracle the other day to beat NA...

Well, they played their backup goalie and scored 2 fluke goals. I'd call that pretty close to a miracle. It's not going to happen in a real tournament (unless Murray gets injured).

 

[ijuka]

Good hands, decent vision, NHL average speed. A solid prospect, just severely over hyped.

Not even going to bother about size. How much did size help Valeri Nichushkin?

Size still is a positive.

Saying that speed is useless because "how much did speed help Pihlström?" or something is just as stupid.

 

[ffh]

So you're telling me, there's no teammates on team Europe? No fellow countrymen? Is every player on the roster from a different country, and different NHL team? They've never seen each other their entire life?

There's very few people on that team (if any) that hasn't played with at least one other member during their career. I don't know what your problem is. Team NA beats Europe twice, then beats Finland... and your excuse is every team that plays them sucks.

they didn't get europe's best is that to hard to understand. but they will get Russia's best tonite. I wanna see how they do against good teams that are trying before I put them in the final. you keep glossing over the fact that the team that beat them got destroyed by Canada. we will see tonight. I think they will get a dose of reality with the pushback and chippyness. I wanna see how the respond. that's all.

 

[CanadianPantherFan]

So it is okay to heap abuse on a nineteen year old Virtanen? Pretty selective about choosing your scapegoats.

Difference being a goalie trying vs kid running around on the ice reckless. BIG difference. Re-read my post. Plus he's a pro by that point.

 

[ijuka]

Except one is true and one isn't.

The thing about Laine is that his shot stands out as elite. Everything else is average or above average.

That still makes him a probable 30-35 goal scorer though.

What stands out about Laine is that he's able to play an NHL game even if he doesn't get a shot off. You seem to forget that being NHL ready at 18 isn't commonplace.

 

[ulvvf]

Other than having a good shot, what else does Patrik Laine have to offer as a player? I honestly don't see anything special about him.

This is a higher level than NHL, give him a break. He has been hyped as a proven superstar, that is off course wrong, he was a wild card nothing else in this tournament, but he is still a huge talent

 

[Quiksilver*]

What stands out about Laine is that he's able to play an NHL game even if he doesn't get a shot off. You seem to forget that being NHL ready at 18 isn't commonplace.

You still think Laine is the best player on the ice at the WCH outside of Crosby and McDavid?

 

[CanadianPantherFan]

After watching Russia play with Sweden I don't think Orlov, Zaitsev or Markov would be as "nice and gentle" as for instance Mäatta or Pokka last night... besides, the russian team has speed and skill of their own to burn for the open free-flowing broken play of last night.

Russian D will be exposed 110% you'll see ... But Bob and Russian O could show up.

 

[DCHabitant]

Galchenyuk tho

Matthews promises to be a star. And I don't have any issue with any of the young players on Team NA. But I don't understand how Galchenyuk--a 22 year old with 30 goals last season--being on the team is laughable. Is it laughable because he's a Hab?

 

[Dris]

Russian D will be exposed 110% you'll see ... But Bob and Russian O could show up.

Cannot wait to see

 

[Dris]

Well, they played their backup goalie and scored 2 fluke goals. I'd call that pretty close to a miracle. It's not going to happen in a real tournament (unless Murray gets injured).

Let's see...

 

[Plub]

After watching Russia play with Sweden I don't think Orlov, Zaitsev or Markov would be as "nice and gentle" as for instance Mäatta or Pokka last night... besides, the russian team has speed and skill of their own to burn for the open free-flowing broken play of last night.

This is a fair point. EU, Finn, and the CZ were all fairly "gentle" like no one wants to go running players that are so much younger. I don't think Russia is going to give a ****.

With that said, team NA is so damn skilled. Maybe the most pure skill team in the tourney. I'm not sure playing rough against them is the way to stop them as they are all use to it and would likely just play through it. Teams that try to pound opposing teams rather than outplaying them generally get called for more penalties and team NA would be just fine taking those PPs.

 

[General Zodd]

Look at Leaf fans, they have a rep here. But, they are probably some of the best fans in the NHL (after Oilers fans ).

Agree. The Leaf fans based here in TO are amongst the most classiest and respectful fans in ALL of hockey. In the past it's been those Leaf fans outside the GTA (Eastern Ontario and upper Ottawa valley I'm talking to you) that were seen as somewhat aggressive Now I look back and think Leafs are all right and I get what they've been through. Oiler fans are also great in that sense. Love the crowd in Winnipeg too as that atmosphere is great. Montreal fans are loudest in the playoffs while Flames and Canucks are loyal diehards!

 

[Dris]

This is a fair point. EU, Finn, and the CZ were all fairly "gentle" like no one wants to go running players that are so much younger. I don't think Russia is going to give a ****.

With that said, team NA is so damn skilled. Maybe the most pure skill team in the tourney. I'm not sure playing rough against them is the way to stop them as they are all use to it and would likely just play through it. Teams that try to pound opposing teams rather than outplaying them generally get called for more penalties and team NA would be just fine taking those PPs.

Polak can be many things...but gentle is not one of them

 

[nucks88]

Difference being a goalie trying vs kid running around on the ice reckless. BIG difference. Re-read my post. Plus he's a pro by that point.

That is a load of crap....you were just piling on the kid like a whole lot of others...whatever bud...

 

[ulvvf]

I think most knowledgeable fans, especially those from the Big 6 nations know that the WHC isn't best-on-best. The best Canadians are still battling for Lord Stanley.

Having said that, in the previous 2 years, we've had a good contingent represent Canada. It showed. The 2015 Canadian WHC team in the Czech Republic was an Olympic calibre team. They dominated en route to a 10-0 record defeating Russia 6-1 for Gold. Many Czech fans commented that was the best team they have ever seen at a IIHF World Hockey Championship. Canada outscored the opposition 66-15 in the tournament, it was a complete and total victory over the competition.

Last year, a younger Canadian team at the 2016 WHC went 9-1 en route to consecutive Gold Medal victories. They rebounded from their only loss against a very strong Finnish team. The Canadians crushed the Finns for Gold, the score looked close, but Canada was clearly the best team at the tournament. I believe the shots were something around 33-16 for Canada, I remember we outshot the Finns by roughly a 2 to 1 margin. Canada was obviously the better team.

When Canadians send our best players, we are simply the best hockey nation in the world. 8 of 12 best-on-best Championships, including 4 of the previous 5 (2002 Olympics, 2004 World Cup, 2010 Olympics, 2014 Olympics) reflect that.

And how is that not a excuse? But you are good at focus on when you are winning.

Canada that hype them so hard to have superior deph should be the last team that use that excuse when they lose, but you are the one that uses that excuse the most, that is a bit ironic. If canada loses crosby and slovenia loses kopitar, who has that hurt the most? Of course the team with weakest deph, so if you now have that strong deph, you should not be the one that uses excuses that you are missing some players, when everyone else also miss some players. If it is any tournament canada should dominate if they where even close to as good as the hype, it is whc.

No matter if it is best on best on more deph test tournaments like whc, canada preformance shift very much depending on how much NHL have controlled over the tournament. Besides whc, the 2 least NHL controlled olympics with the best players in (1998 and 2006) canada didnt even take a medal, but the more it is controlled by NHL the higher the winning procent goes up. But you guys have no problem with this corruption with clearly biased refs and basically always play on home ice etc, since it makes you win far more often.

I guess having problem or not with corruption is a culture thing. But do not say you do not uses excuses when you lose, because you do.

 

[ffh]

Sounds like you missed the game last night. That's too bad, it was really something to see. I suggest you try to watch tonight if you can.

You still watching or have you turned it off