GDT: Gold Medal Game • Jan. 5 • 8:00 PM ET • 02:00 CET - (Mod Warning IN OP))

[Macman]

Bragin's got his guys committing to an incredible team defensive structure. The way they trap, box out, block shots and take away time and space from the points on the pp, I can see Canada becoming frustrated quickly like they did against Finland in the semis in Malmo, and resorting to individual play.

Russia wins 5-2.

 

[covfefe]

No way that Petan is taken off the McDavid-Lazar line after his performance last game. That's in reference to the projected lineup from the OP

 

[MOGiLNY]

I was thinking this yesterday that if it's a Canada-Russia final, Bragin may go with Sorokin in net and today he said that they are still thinking about which goalie will start tonight.

Could be a surprise in net.

 

[HockeyAllDaWay]

I want Russia to win, but I would bet on Canada, either way this is the best possible outcome I could have wished for; two of my favorite teams in for the gold and usa eliminated lol.

Edit: Happy game is at 8 eastern time, that's when I finish work =^-^=

 

[NyQuil]

I was thinking this yesterday that if it's a Canada-Russia final, Bragin may go with Sorokin in net and today he said that they are still thinking about which goalie will start tonight.

Could be a surprise in net.

Sounds like the usual psychological tricks before a big game.

 

[Scotty B]

Russia has been getting better over the course of the tournament, as has Canada for the most part.

I think Russia will relish their role as underdogs and if they score first, Canada could press a little too hard and make mistakes and/or take penalties as a result.

If Russia plays patient, they have a decent chance at winning with good goaltending.

However, if Canada puts up a goal or two early, and keeps pressing, it could be lopsided.

Russia agreed, they've definitely improved Big Time since the round robin. Canada, yes and no. McDavid definitely seems to have shaken off the rust. Gauthier Richie and Crouse have been pretty stellar from USA game onward (again too bad Gauthier is such a poor finisher, but otherwise that's the best I've ever seen him play in a TC uni). Petan seems like a vast improvement over Virtanen, or Point, playing with McD and Lazar. In stark contrast, our one time top line has gone a bit cold, but Duclair, in particular, has been getting tons of glorious chances.

Alas, TC is really missing Fabri, and tiny, not so perfect Point ( wherever they play him? presumably with Virtanen and Paul going forward ) looks, thus far , like a pale substitute. Point didn't perform well vs SVK imo, hope he turns it around tonight! Again he did look good in exhib, and in limited action earlier. Ergo, there's certainly cause for optimism.

Doubtless both teams are banged up a bit, but someone made a point of saying Virtanen is playing hurt. He looked pretty decent applying the pressure deep in the zone last night to me, and almost clicked with Paul. Still I don't recall a lot of after whistle pushing and shoving from him, and since he normally has a mean streak/ low boiling pt, that may be a bad sign? Is Virtanen's supposed hurt just a rumor? Or what? Anybody know?

 

[Jeti]

Ritchie and Crouse ( @17 who must have scouts drooling !) can score, plus that big boyz line has done plenty of cycling deep inside the opposition zone. Too bad, Gauthier can't finish. Still maybe tonight's his night.

Paul doesn't need much of an opportunity to snipe, and Virtanen's had some good moments buzzing around opposition goal ( although somebody said he's playing hurt? ). Tiny, not so perfect, Point, is the wild card. He showed plenty of promise in the exhibition games, so maybe he can rebound after an off night vs SVK.

Long story short, don't count our 3rd and 4th lines out!.

Crouse has looked good for his age but that line is all cycling and no creativity. Ritchie and Gauthier look clueless with the puck. Maybe they score on their junior teams but in this tournament they seem incapable of handling the puck off the boards. Good for them for at least maintaining possession and wearing their opponents down with the cycle, but I can't see them suddenly scoring. There's just no playmakers in the bottom-6 without Petan.

Paul-Point-Virtanen didn't look like a threat at all yesterday, and yes, I believe the commentators said Virtanen is playing hurt.

... I'm counting our 3rd and 4th lines out. Lazar-McDavid-Petan is going to be huge again though.

 

[Yakushev72]

In a best-of-seven Canada would slaughter this Russian team in 5.

Yet in a one-game final you never know.

Canada should win this 4-1 or 5-2, and a lot will have to go wrong for them to lose, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they find a way to choke.

Incidentally, Canada has never lost on Toronto ice in a meaningful game: 13-0-1

Summit series win in 72, 3-0 at 1976 Canada Cup, 1-0 at 1986 Juniors, 2-0-1 at 1991 Canada Cup, 4-0-0 at 2004 World Cup, and 2-0 so far at this WJC.

Only two losses were in exhibition games (4-6 USA before 1991 Canada Cup, and 1-2 to Russia before this tournament).

How can you trash the Russian team that badly? You say that this Canada team is vastly superior to the Russians based on your "virtual" 5 game trouncing in an imaginary best of 7 series, but then give yourself an escape clause for tonight by saying that "in a one game final you never know." The Russians were better than the highly hyped USA team, and they beat the Group winner Sweden decisively. Why put the Russians down before you have even seen them matched up against Canada?

 

[McYoungGuns]

Yah but like you canadians i dont say Russia dident deserv to win that game

Damn i want the Russian to beat you guys so hard to night ! for you hockey is religion over there! for us here in Sweden it is pretty big but we don't cry ourself to sleep if we loss a game

and thats why you will never be anything but road kill in the world of hockey

 

[Scotty B]

Crouse has looked good for his age but that line is all cycling and no creativity. Ritchie and Gauthier look clueless with the puck. Maybe they score on their junior teams but in this tournament they seem incapable of handling the puck off the boards. Good for them for at least maintaining possession and wearing their opponents down with the cycle, but I can't see them suddenly scoring. There's just no playmakers in the bottom-6 without Petan.

Paul-Point-Virtanen didn't look like a threat at all yesterday, and yes, I believe the commentators said Virtanen is playing hurt.

... I'm counting our 3rd and 4th lines out. Lazar-McDavid-Petan is going to be huge again though.

Agreed about McD Petan + Lazar...Don't think u give Ritchie enough credit, he's a better skater + finisher than Gauthier , he's already scored ( as has Crouse ), they've both set Gauthier up plenty, Crouse set him up in the slot, only a few feet from goal last nite, and for once Gauthier actually got off a shot which Godla juggled then grabbed. In terms of lack of finishing, for that line, that's mostly on Gauthier...

As for Virtanen? Didn't know it was TSN guys who said he was playing hurt, thought that was just a HFboard rumor...

 

[McYoungGuns]

Sorry Canada! If Russia plays as well as they did against us the gold medal will be theirs.

5-3 Russia.

Sorry Sweden! don't put us at your lowly level , its not our fault you shat the bed , we're going to win gold and thats that

 

[Harikkerk]

Russia had a hard road to this gold medal game, i'll be rooting for them. Canada had a pretty easy road.

Did i get this wrong or did Canada only play USA as a top nation? Looks to me that they have only played the lower ranked nations pretty much this whole tournament...?

They did play Finland to right? But Finland had a horrible team this year.

 

[ViD]

In a best-of-seven Canada would slaughter this Russian team in 5.

Yet in a one-game final you never know.

Russia is up 4-1 in the last 5 meetings at the WJHC though

 

[Canuckistani]

How can you trash the Russian team that badly? You say that this Canada team is vastly superior to the Russians based on your "virtual" 5 game trouncing in an imaginary best of 7 series, but then give yourself an escape clause for tonight by saying that "in a one game final you never know." The Russians were better than the highly hyped USA team, and they beat the Group winner Sweden decisively. Why put the Russians down before you have even seen them matched up against Canada?

Canada has been dominant from the get-go while Russia has been a mixed bag - a shootout over Denmark and a loss to the Czechs.

So in a best-of-seven I see Canada winning decisively. Doesn't mean they can't choke in a one-game final, which they may very well do. That's not an "escape clause", it's a simple fact.

 

[Canuckistani]

Russia is up 4-1 in the last 5 meetings at the WJHC though

True, but irrelevant. Different players, different teams.

Before yesterday Sweden had beaten Russia at the WJC in 10 of their last 11 meetings. Didn't mean a thing when they hit the ice in the SF.

 

[Skip2myBordyloo]

Love it when people brag with accomplishments they had absolutely nothing to do with.

I mean what's the point of being a fan anyways?

 

[Harikkerk]

lol , love it !!! It looked like our mens team was playing sweetness Wjr team , never have we won so easily

Ohh OL.....when all our players were injured and our best D-man wasn't allowed to play.

That we even took us to the final was a miracle....

 

[McYoungGuns]

Ohh OL.....when all our players were injured and our best D-man wasn't allowed to play.

That we even took us to the final was a miracle....

sorry it wasn't meant for you , as you can see I was only replying and quoting one person that kept crying and making excuses

I myself thought they played well but when you cry " oh the refs" theres not much you can say considering the game was called fairly

 

[Subban signed e5]

Canada 4 Russia 2

 

[Stats01]

sorry it wasn't meant for you , as you can see I was only replying and quoting one person that kept crying and making excuses

I myself thought they played well but when you cry " oh the refs" theres not much you can say considering the game was called fairly

Best Canadian team assembled in any competition ever played IMO. Just complete domination from start to finish. What a group and what a game.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

For the Rangers fans, this will be Buch vs. Duke. No preference on who wins this.

 

[Rocko604]

Russia had a hard road to this gold medal game, i'll be rooting for them. Canada had a pretty easy road.

Did i get this wrong or did Canada only play USA as a top nation? Looks to me that they have only played the lower ranked nations pretty much this whole tournament...?

They did play Finland to right? But Finland had a horrible team this year.

Not their fault. The tournament is seeded off last year's results. Finland and the US severly under-performed, but Canada still had to get by them. I could argue Sweden's group was just as easy with only Russia as the other top team.

 

[Liminality]

Terry Koshan ‏@koshtorontosun 5m5 minutes ago
No Russian player availability this morning. Their media person told some of us the team would do its talking on the ice tonight.

I like the sound of that. This should be a really good game, shouldn't be one sided either way.

P.S. could you imagine a Canadian team not talking to the media before a important game? Everyone would go nuts

 

[aphyro]

sorry it wasn't meant for you , as you can see I was only replying and quoting one person that kept crying and making excuses

I myself thought they played well but when you cry " oh the refs" theres not much you can say considering the game was called fairly

What exucused did i make?! i make statement that it was a whole Canadian ref tema... you denie it?!

or did i make any excuses that Russian beated Sweden yesterday? no

YOU canadian can't stand that i was saying i root for Russia this game you started to bring up how easly you beat Sweden at Olympic...

Wow just wow i really hope Russia destroy your team today...

 

[Adanac]

In a best-of-seven Canada would slaughter this Russian team in 5.

Yet in a one-game final you never know.

Canada should win this 4-1 or 5-2, and a lot will have to go wrong for them to lose, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if they find a way to choke.

Incidentally, Canada has never lost on Toronto ice in a meaningful game: 13-0-1

Summit series win in 72, 3-0 at 1976 Canada Cup, 1-0 at 1986 Juniors, 2-0-1 at 1991 Canada Cup, 4-0-0 at 2004 World Cup, and 2-0 so far at this WJC.

Only two losses were in exhibition games (4-6 USA before 1991 Canada Cup, and 1-2 to Russia before this tournament).

Yeah, that's what they said in 1972...In fact they said, Russia wont be able to win a single game. Every year the same excuse for Canadians:" If only that was a 7 game series".