lilooet*
Guest
I'm surprised Mr Special hasn't mentioned it already, but Canada at even strength is simply not doing the job.
Sure, our record is fine thus far because we've played decent games and got some garbage or textbook point shot goals on the pp. That said, our pp is awful - the positioning is fine in most instances, but the decision making is, at times, of the lowest calibre. The cycle is good (when lead by Downie) but the cross-ice passes are weak and the point and slot shots are rarely getting through.
And here I come to my main point: though the pp is abysmal, that is the only way we have been scoring. And not just 'scoring', but scoring against weaker teams.
In the last two games, Canada has only two even strength goals, and both of these came from - that's right - a Dman. And this was against Germany and Slovakia respectively. The US game was hardly different and, against Sweden, both goals came on the pp, half of which were from the point (Bourdon).
On top of this, especially five on five, but also on the pp, I can count on one hand with a missing finger (changing room accident) the number of times a Canadian player has driven to the net from the wing or on one-on-one battles à la Mike Richards/Jeff Carter et al.
I don't mean to whine, but I am truly concerned, as such play will not hold up if we meet Russia in the Finals, or any other hot and special team in the Semis.
As I mentioned in another thread, it is extraordinarily clear that this is not a Sutter team. Some may see that as a good thing; I don't.
Sure, our record is fine thus far because we've played decent games and got some garbage or textbook point shot goals on the pp. That said, our pp is awful - the positioning is fine in most instances, but the decision making is, at times, of the lowest calibre. The cycle is good (when lead by Downie) but the cross-ice passes are weak and the point and slot shots are rarely getting through.
And here I come to my main point: though the pp is abysmal, that is the only way we have been scoring. And not just 'scoring', but scoring against weaker teams.
In the last two games, Canada has only two even strength goals, and both of these came from - that's right - a Dman. And this was against Germany and Slovakia respectively. The US game was hardly different and, against Sweden, both goals came on the pp, half of which were from the point (Bourdon).
On top of this, especially five on five, but also on the pp, I can count on one hand with a missing finger (changing room accident) the number of times a Canadian player has driven to the net from the wing or on one-on-one battles à la Mike Richards/Jeff Carter et al.
I don't mean to whine, but I am truly concerned, as such play will not hold up if we meet Russia in the Finals, or any other hot and special team in the Semis.
As I mentioned in another thread, it is extraordinarily clear that this is not a Sutter team. Some may see that as a good thing; I don't.