OttawaRoughRiderFan*
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Dominik Hasek.
Yup. As usual Rabid Ranger sums it up nicely.
Mr Hasek was the best goalie I EVER saw. When he was on his game you could not beat him with a stick. Jagr was great but Hasek was King.
Dominik Hasek.
Nothing went wrong, they lost to better teams.
and that two of the top 10 forwards in the world in Sakic and Kariya were missing for that game.
Being completely unfamiliar and unprepared for the shootout was pretty significant. Hasek was obviously brilliant but Canadian shooters have come a long way since 94, and 98 Olympics. I'd argue what was once an achilles heel off Canadian hockey has turned into somewhat of a strength.
Don't take anything away from the Czechs -- Hasek was ridiculous in that game, and in his prime was a guy that can single handedly win games for any team, which he did there. It was Hasek and Jagr that won that tournament for them.
I said that Hasek and Jagr won that on their own, and I stand by that.
+1.
Canada just could not solve the Dominator. If I remember, Linden's goal to tie was off a deflection. Hasek played lights out.
If Canada doesn't win gold, something went wrong with the team? No. There were just better teams than Canada in Nagano.
http://www.hockeynut.com/olympics/czeros.html
is this team really better than Canada's?
I don't know most of the Czechs, I'm too young.
I'd put most of the heavy on Hasek.
Yes, it was better than Canada's.
The goalie is part of the team.I'd put most of the heavy on Hasek.
The 98 version of team Canada had Bobby Clarke's greasy fingerprints all over it. It was a reactionary move to name him GM because of the 96 World Cup loss to the US.
Dumbass play by play guys. ''Czechoslovakia up 1-0''
Also the shootout moves by Canada was laughable. Some of those shots had no chance of going in. All Hasek had to do move with them.
And Ivan Hlinka, RIP.
I suck at goalie and even I could've made those saves, seriously. They were a joke.
+1.
Canada just could not solve the Dominator. If I remember, Linden's goal to tie was off a deflection. Hasek played lights out.
Typical Canadian excuse. Whenever Team Canada loses, it's always because the game was stolen by the opposing goaltender.
The Czech Republic outshot Canada, and while outshooting a team doesn't necessarily mean you were better, it's pretty definitive proof that Canada didn't exactly dominate play.
Dumbass play by play guys. ''Czechoslovakia up 1-0''
Also the shootout moves by Canada was laughable. Some of those shots had no chance of going in. All Hasek had to do move with them.
And Ivan Hlinka, RIP.
It's not that they said Czechoslovakia the whole tournament. We and the play by play guys knew it was the Czech Republic, but sometime it would slip and the mouth would automatically revert back to Czechoslovakia. After all, the separation was only 4 years before.Dumbass play by play guys. ''Czechoslovakia up 1-0''
Also the shootout moves by Canada was laughable. Some of those shots had no chance of going in. All Hasek had to do move with them.
And Ivan Hlinka, RIP.
It wasn't overreaction, but a valid concern. I remember that we were in a very bad state in the end of the '90s. Everyone thought that we were losing it and other countries were going to surpass us. I remember having so many online fights defending our hockey but let's not kid ourself, we were indeed bad then. Look at the NHL individual stats of the '90s and you'll notice that most of the top players were Euros.I remember the overreaction to their loss here at home. Some in the sports media were almost giddy that Canada lost. Blaming "Canadian style" hockey. Suddently Canadians "had no skill".
These were certainly the darkest years for Canadian hockey. After winning the WJC 5 years in a row we couldn't win that tournament anymore.
You sir seems to be the only one with a memory or simply because you're this old .I'm not sure what the OP is talking about... did he only look at a few of the top players and assume it was one of the best Canadian teams? Now Canada should always have a strong team on paper, but considering that Gretzky was no longer one of the best players in the game and Lemieux, Sakic, and Kariya were sitting out, it would be more accurate to describe this team as one of the worst teams of professionals Canada has ever sent. This was a time in the NHL when Canadian talent seemed to be on the decline. In the NHL that year we only had 3 players in the top 10 in scoring. For goals, there were 4 50 goal scorers, but none of them Canadian, and only 2 in the top ten there as well. We were in a slump at the WJC as well I believe, and journalists were having fun talking about the demise of Canadian hockey.
It explains everything when you see the name Rob Zamuner.For the team itself, while we had a few of the best players in the game still (Roy, Bourque, Lindros, Gretzky, Yzerman), the team was severely lacking in talented wingers. Too many grinders and not enough talented finishers to play beside those great centers, really it was the Americans that looked like the best all around team. It was also the first Olympics so under IIHF rules, previous best on best tournaments many of these guys played in were under NHL rules.