I was at that Canada/U.S. game. I recall that Canada dominate but I didn't realize the shots on goal were that bad.
The most memorable part of that game for me was seeing Mario Lemieux play defense like a normal NHL player.
The shots came closer as the game went on, but that first period was one where I thought Canada should have put it out of reach right then and there.
That is also the game that Mario got frustrated and went over and fought Mike Konowalchuk. Well, not so much "fought" as much as it was more or less a roughing call, but still.
When Team Finland gets it together, they are usually among the most frustrating opponents imaginable.
They are always a pesky bunch. On paper Canada always has the upper hand with them by a significant margin but they never translate it on the ice so much. For whatever reason Finland always has played us tough. Other than the 1976 and 1981 Canada Cup games that were 11-2 and 9-0 games when Finland was green they always play us tough. 1991 we tied them in the round robin, lost in the Bronze medal game in 1998. Won a tight quarterfinal game in 2002 against them, lost in the round robin in 2006 and then needed overtime in the round robin in 2014. Always tight. Even the 2004 championship game probably shouldn't have been so close, but it was.
Might have to bust out my 2004 World Cup DVD this holiday break. That Canada vs Czech game was unreal. I remember thinking Lecavalier was really on his way to mega superstardom.
I thought so too. I figured this was his coming out party and he was right around the age that the likes of Lafleur started hitting his stride. But it never happened. He had that bizarre season in 2006 where the league opened up a bit in a way that you figure would benefit him. The next year he hit his prime though, but it was short lived.