Let's Watch - 1996/9/14 - Game 3 1996 World Cup Of Hockey - Canada vs United States at Montréal

[Theokritos]

Interesting to look back at that Canadian roster. I see some omissions but can't recall why. Bourque, Lemieux, Kariya, Francis are four that I can see.

Bourque and Lemieux didn't want to play. Kariya and Francis were injured as was Al MacInnis.

 

[c9777666]

If that Sweden game plays out differently and Canada went home in the semis, would a USA win over the Swedes have been more or less special than what we ended up with?

 

[Fenway]

We are approaching the 25th anniversary of this game so I am bumping it.

 

[JianYang]

Bourque and Lemieux didn't want to play. Kariya and Francis were injured as was Al MacInnis.

What were other notable omissions? I assume they called Patrick Roy as well?

I was barely a teenager when this game happened, and I remember I was at a wedding reception, but this game was playing on the projector as we waited for the arrival of the bride and groom.

I remember feeling shocked and embarrassed from the result, and watching at that time, it felt like Richter had maybe the best goaltending performance I have ever seen, but it would be interesting to rewatch it, and see if my opinion as an adult remains the same.

This was also a rare time (at least since I started paying attention), where the final game was played outside of Toronto. I suppose this has something to do with the bell center being brand new at the time while Toronto could only respond with the old maple leaf gardens.

I know this also happened in 1987, but that was before my time, and it was still a reasonable drive from Toronto. I think Hamilton's building was also fairly new at the time.

 

[ORHawksFan]

From what I understand Scotty Bowman was the architect of Canada and wouldn't guarantee Roy the starting job so he passed.

As an American this was one of the things that made me fall in love with hockey, my avatar is Amonte after he scored the gwg. It was a great series but the US definitely benefited to notable absences for Canada and were lucky to have Richter, Leetch, Chelios, Modano, Hull in or close to their primes and guys like Amonte, Tkachuck, Weight, and Deadmarsh coming into their own.

 

[CharlestownChiefsESC]

This tournament also changed the way hockey Canada thought too. Even before they lost many were criticizing Sather for the ice time he was giving certain lines. Alot of people said the Shanny-Sakic-Lindros line and the Yzerman-Brind Amour- Fleury line were the 2 best lines they had yet he kept putting Gretzky’s line and Messier's line out most often. He also kept playing Paul Coffey more minutes over guys like Rob Blake and Scott Niedermayer. In Theo Fleury's book he touches on this and especially in the Sweden game he said Sather kept playing the guys above despite them being older and with less in the tank. It does make me wonder if Bowman was there would he have been more fair with the ice time.

 

[JackSlater]

This tournament also changed the way hockey Canada thought too. Even before they lost many were criticizing Sather for the ice time he was giving certain lines. Alot of people said the Shanny-Sakic-Lindros line and the Yzerman-Brind Amour- Fleury line were the 2 best lines they had yet he kept putting Gretzky’s line and Messier's line out most often. He also kept playing Paul Coffey more minutes over guys like Rob Blake and Scott Niedermayer. In Theo Fleury's book he touches on this and especially in the Sweden game he said Sather kept playing the guys above despite them being older and with less in the tank. It does make me wonder if Bowman was there would he have been more fair with the ice time.

You'd have to think that things would shake out differently in terms of usage. Gretzky and especially Coffey had good tournaments in 1996 though so it isn't as if they were the problem. When Bowman pulled out they really should have gone for another more tactical coach, like Lemaire, for the staff. I don't know that you need mostly retired coach Sather, noted Pittsburgh country club patron Eddie Johnston, and Marc Crawford all on the same staff. Maybe Andy Murray was there because Terry Crisp was busy.

 

[The Panther]

Yeah, the choice of Sather as head coach then was just bizarre. He hadn't coached for, like, 7 years. Even if you're involved in the game as GM or whatever, it's not the same as being in the trenches, seeing the current players up close and strategizing accordingly. I know Eddie Johnston was Sather's old teammate and presumably buddy, but why the heck would he have been there?? A poor coach at the best of times, and a bit of a fossil by then. Crawford was obviously there to be the young guy (recent Cup winner) who would probably deal with the non-veterans or something, I don't know.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Interesting to look back at that Canadian roster. I see some omissions but can't recall why. Bourque, Lemieux, Kariya, Francis are four that I can see.

Pronger?

 

[The Panther]

whole game>

Thanks for that, I just watched this game. I don't think I've ever seen this one, actually. (I think I had my poetry class the night this game was played live... How "hockey" can you get?)

Very lucky win by Canada. Sweden came perversely close to winning this game twice in the shift prior to the Shanahan goal (which itself was rather improbable), and generally I think Sweden played the smarter game. It's staggering how awful Canada looked on the PP in the first period. You would also think a defence-core with their line-up would not have trouble clearing the puck from their zone, but they did... repeatedly.

Messier and Graves looked good, despite Graves' ridiculous 1st period penalty (elbow to the head off a face-off) which very nearly led to a Sweden PP goal. The same cannot be said for their line-mate, Claude Lemieux, was did nothing of note the whole game (well, he did beat one icing call in the third). Lindros was poor in the 1st until he scored, and then was better, but faded again in the third and in OT. Sakic was pretty good, as usual, but I never felt he and Lindros connected as line-mates. Shanahan and Fleury were very good. Gretzky was just okay, but again the combination of he and Damphousse just leaves me scratching my head -- at no time did they ever show any chemistry, and Linden just looked completely out of place.

The Team Canada defence looked shaky, except for Coffey, who was quite good, and maybe Neidermayer. Speaking of, Niedermayer's 2nd period goal was fantastic, and did he ever school Lidstrom on that one! (Is it fair to say that Lidstrom's international reputation is far, far exceeded by his NHL one?) Rob Blake threw some big hits, but generally looked out of position a lot. Foote was pretty good, I guess.

 

[Big Phil]

Time has healed wounds with this game. Boy, was this game ever one that bothered me for a long, long time. The 1998 Olympics made it even worse. 2002 healed some of those wounds, but for a while it was more like "was 1995-'96 the last time we can say hockey is our game and we're the best?" It was honestly a big issue in Canadian hockey. It was that brief era from 1996-'02 where we thought we didn't have any skill anymore. 1996 started this. I can remember Adam Foote being interviewed after the game and he was asked if there is any consolation that other teams are playing "like us". Which is what the USA was doing successfully.

I look back at this game and this series and when you compare it to modern hockey it is just so lovely to watch. They hated each other. Lindros and Chelios hated each other, Lindros slashed Tkachuk on the back of his neck during this game. Tkachuk slashed Foote so hard he broke his stick, then got tossed out of the game. Lots of animosity.

Canada dominated this game for the first 40 minutes. There is that robbing Richter made off of Yzerman in the 1st period but if you ever want to see a goaltending clinic watch the 2nd period of this game. Canada was all over them and Richter robbed them blind. Especially that Damphousse breakaway where he has Richter turned into a pretzel. I honestly thought with 5 seconds left when Lindros scored on a screened shot that we would win. The Foote goal just solidified it.

Something changed after that Foote goal. Canada should have kept blitzing, but stayed in a defensive shell as if one goal was enough. They iced the puck a lot for no reason after that goal. This is what scared me in the gold medal game of the 2010 Olympics. Canada clung to a 2-1 lead and iced the puck late in the game over and over. It reminded me of 1996. Not to mention the Crosby breakaway thwarted late in the game. But in 1996 it was the Claude Lemieux play where he fanned on a lovely scoring chance on a 2-on-1 with under 4 minutes to go. Then he is on the ice 30 seconds later for the Hull goal. It was Claude who rifled the puck all the way around the boards right to an uncovered Leetch who shot the puck Hull tipped in. Ironically, Claude should have been right there where Leetch was. Then the Amonte goal where Canada just looked wiped out, then the play where the puck jumps over Gretzky's stick when he's wide open and then the empty netter. Followed by a nail in the coffin goal from Deadmarsh - the other Canadian born guy on that U.S. team. It bothered me for a long time, but this was actually a classic game and they don't make them like that anymore, but if they do ever again.....................wow!