Team USA.

[beerpaul*]

What the heck is going on with this team. Montoya went from one of the most coveted goalies to a goalie that looks like a struggling midget goalie. I think there is a chemistry problem with this team...there is no puck support. If an American is battling for a puck along the boards, there is no teammate anywhere near him for puck support/to help him out. It's strange because in game 1 against Russia, the Americans played great(puck support, battled hard...). After that game their passion continually waned. It can be attributed to Montoya's awful goaltending, and I think the coach can take a lot of blame as well for this team being in such dissarray.

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[Levitate]

uh, the lack of team chemistry and player support can be attributed to montoya?

i hope that's not what you meant...

i don't see why anything about the way the americans played in general should be attributed to montoya besides the goaltending (obviously). anything else is scapegoating

 

[Berkut]

Team USA is out, so let's move on. Next year they'll have a brand new team.

 

[crossxcheck]

Team USA is out, so let's move on. Next year they'll have a brand new team.

I agree. And next year johnson and bobby ryan along with kessel should be suiting up. looking forward to it.

 

[The Gabe Blade]

The US team had a disadvantage this year. The best of the best that normally dont play in the juniors all showed up this year since the lockout took place. Face it Bergeron, Ovechckin, Malkin, etc wouldnt be suiting up without a lockout. The US team is a bit thin without having to face players like that to begin with. Without any real superstars on the team, they played fantastic. I am very proud of them.

 

[espo*]

It just was'nt their year this time.The talent to win it all was'nt available this year compared to a few other teams.They assembled a team that they thought would take advantage of the strentghs they had at their disposal but it was'nt enough to get the job done against stronger teams.Montoya had flashes but did'nt play as well as last year.They showed flashes at times.....the third period against the Czechs comes to mind in particular....but they could'nt put it together for periods at a time and on a consistent game basis.They will be better next year.they have nice talent.

 

[orangeandblack]

I agree. And next year johnson and bobby ryan along with kessel should be suiting up. looking forward to it.

its very early but i think next years team will be one of the teams to beat, especially with canada losing most of its team. (even though they have plenty of replacements)

kessel-ryan-schremp if they were a line would score tons of goals

 

[Russian Fan]

The coaching staff of the USA teams was a concern.

It looks like he thought his offense would bring him very far (on paper, it could have been right) & they never change their strategy.

Maybe the coaching staff thought Montoya would save the day with the defensive lapses that happened.

I saw a lot of 3 on 2 & 2 on 1 against USA & they never recovered from it. The coaching staff never wanted to change anything.

My point of view.

 

[Aaron Vickers]

The US team had a disadvantage this year. The best of the best that normally dont play in the juniors all showed up this year since the lockout took place. Face it Bergeron, Ovechckin, Malkin, etc wouldnt be suiting up without a lockout. The US team is a bit thin without having to face players like that to begin with. Without any real superstars on the team, they played fantastic. I am very proud of them.

I believe that Malkin would still be there. I believe he signed a 5 year contract this past season with his Russian club.

Regardless, we're overlooking the fact that quite a few players are released each year to go play in the World Juniors. Typically the only time they aren't is if they're playing a crutial role on a team that's doing relatively well. Of course, there are exceptions, however I think that the amount of players that wouldn't have been allowed to go wouldn't have been devastatingly high.

 

[Levitate]

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The coaching staff of the USA teams was a concern.

It looks like he thought his offense would bring him very far (on paper, it could have been right) & they never change their strategy.

Maybe the coaching staff thought Montoya would save the day with the defensive lapses that happened.

I saw a lot of 3 on 2 & 2 on 1 against USA & they never recovered from it. The coaching staff never wanted to change anything.

My point of view.

I'd agree with that...

 

[Street Hawk]

Odd way to look at it?

The US team had a disadvantage this year. The best of the best that normally dont play in the juniors all showed up this year since the lockout took place. Face it Bergeron, Ovechckin, Malkin, etc wouldnt be suiting up without a lockout. The US team is a bit thin without having to face players like that to begin with. Without any real superstars on the team, they played fantastic. I am very proud of them.

Hmm... as a Canadian, I've always seen it as the Reverse, that Canada was at a disadvantage not having anywhere from 1 to 4 players who could be there because they were in the NHL. In regards to this year's team, despite the Lockout, they are still missing Nathan Horton, whom the Panthers/Keenan didn't want to release on time for the team camp and Brent Burns, whom the Wild are converting from Forward to Defence.

Isn't it a slap in the face of the USA Hockey program to say that they can't win because the other countries have their best players at this tournament? In Canada, it's accepted that some guys can't be there. I mean, last year's team was missing Horton, Bouchard, Staal, and Nash.

 

[beerpaul*]

You can't see how Montoya's poor play could affect the Americans play? Why should the players bust their b*lls when, at any time, they know Montoya could let in an "air ball". Why did Calgary go so far in the playoffs last spring? GOALTENDING! In playoffs, or a short tournament like this, if you don't have,at least, adequate goaltending... you don't win. Montoya wasn't their only problem. The team wasn't working for each other. Like I said...there was no puck support, and players were continually out of position...not enough intensity... etc.

uh, the lack of team chemistry and player support can be attributed to montoya?

i hope that's not what you meant...

i don't see why anything about the way the americans played in general should be attributed to montoya besides the goaltending (obviously). anything else is scapegoating

 

[Reilly311]

In playoffs, or a short tournament like this, if you don't have,at least, adequate goaltending... you don't win.

Yeah, Jeff Glass has been just steller. :lol

 

[Mountain Dude]

The US team had a disadvantage this year. The best of the best that normally dont play in the juniors all showed up this year since the lockout took place. Face it Bergeron, Ovechckin, Malkin, etc wouldnt be suiting up without a lockout. The US team is a bit thin without having to face players like that to begin with. Without any real superstars on the team, they played fantastic. I am very proud of them.

No, its not that the US had a disadvantage, its that Canada and Russia finally didn't have a disadvantage. The US always gets their 19 year olds because they're never quite good enough to make the NHL, but Canada and Russia always have their 19 year olds in the NHL.

 

[Benji Frank]

Yeah, Jeff Glass has been just steller. :lol

He's outplayed Montoya. Give him 20 or 30 shots a game like the Americans have given their goalie to work with and Glass would at least be able to stay focused!! Even guys like Martin Brodeur let in softees when they're only facing a dozen shots per game. It's probably the most difficult challenge a goalie faces and I'm sure Glass hasn't had to deal with this night in and night out like he's had to the last couple of weeks.........

 

[beerpaul*]

You're a funny guy. Glass has been adequate. He hasn't lost a game for the Canadians. Canada has a great team. USA has a very good team with major issues...number 1 being Montoya's bad goaltending.

Yeah, Jeff Glass has been just steller. :lol

 

[Rabid Ranger]

The coaching staff of the USA teams was a concern.

It looks like he thought his offense would bring him very far (on paper, it could have been right) & they never change their strategy.

Maybe the coaching staff thought Montoya would save the day with the defensive lapses that happened.

I saw a lot of 3 on 2 & 2 on 1 against USA & they never recovered from it. The coaching staff never wanted to change anything.

My point of view.

I tend to agree with you. I think Sandelin and the rest of the coaching staff thought the team would run & gun its way to the gold medal game, and when that didn't happen, the going got very tough. Sandelin doesn't seem to be very good when it comes to shifting tactics mid-stream, something Mike Eaves last year was adept at. I wonder if the U.S. brass will try to coax Eaves back next year?

 

[Rabid Ranger]

You're a funny guy. Glass has been adequate. He hasn't lost a game for the Canadians. Canada has a great team. USA has a very good team with major issues...number 1 being Montoya's bad goaltending.

You're wrong. Montoya's had his struggles, but he's given his team a chance to win in the two most important games of this tournament: Sweden and Russia. The defense in front of his has been very poor for most of the tournament, and he's suffered because of it. Jeff Glass has been adequete, but he hasn't been tested at all. We'll see how he does against Russia.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

He's outplayed Montoya. Give him 20 or 30 shots a game like the Americans have given their goalie to work with and Glass would at least be able to stay focused!! Even guys like Martin Brodeur let in softees when they're only facing a dozen shots per game. It's probably the most difficult challenge a goalie faces and I'm sure Glass hasn't had to deal with this night in and night out like he's had to the last couple of weeks.........

That's all conjecture. Glass has obviously played well enough for Canada to win, but he hasn't set the world on fire. It would have been interesting to see how he would have played if he was seeing the type of quality chances Montoya had coming at him wave after wave. Would he have held down the fort? I can't answer that, and neither can you.

 

[Rabid Ranger]

It just was'nt their year this time.The talent to win it all was'nt available this year compared to a few other teams.They assembled a team that they thought would take advantage of the strentghs they had at their disposal but it was'nt enough to get the job done against stronger teams.Montoya had flashes but did'nt play as well as last year.They showed flashes at times.....the third period against the Czechs comes to mind in particular....but they could'nt put it together for periods at a time and on a consistent game basis.They will be better next year.they have nice talent.

True enough. What's amazing is the U.S. was a few breaks away from beating Russia and finding themselves in the gold medal game! They didn't, so hat's off to Russia, and I'm looking forward to a great game. At least the U.S. can still claim bronze, which will be a nice accomplishment IMO. A medal would be nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[espo*]

True enough. What's amazing is the U.S. was a few breaks away from beating Russia and finding themselves in the gold medal game! They didn't, so hat's off to Russia, and I'm looking forward to a great game. At least the U.S. can still claim bronze, which will be a nice accomplishment IMO. A medal would be nothing to be ashamed of.

For sure.....bronze is still there and it's nothing to sneeze at.I'm sure the players are dissapointed that gold isn't there as they had high expectations like anyone else but bronze is still there.They almost got through despite the problems they experienced in this tourney.In the end it was really team defense that was the problem.I saw a team in the third period of the Czech game that could play in the gold medal game but they could'nt consistenly put that together and that's why they are not there really.Tsn said they have eight returning guys that can go to Vamcouver next year and in this tourney returning guys tend to be important.Factor in an older Phil Kessell and likely a larger contingent of bigger more sandpaper defensemen (smaller ice surface) they will bring next year,along with wanting to atone for this year and they will be tough to beat. There is the matter of regrouping for this game now and having the U.S hockey braintrust work towards correcting what went wrong this year so it won't next year.You should have a real good team next year.

 

[bling]

Truth is there was just not enough "smoke and mirrors" for this team to win this year. I feel they actually outdid themselves to get to the Bronze game.

Coaching and defense (including goaltending) let them down. The forward group was as capable as any other team but the support from the blue line was not. In retrospect some different players (Johnson) could have been chosen but I doubt that would have made a any real difference. I was never impressed with Sandelin's coaching and the word on Montoya since last year's WJC was not very encouraging. Sometimes a guy will have a great series and his team will win but that does not mean he is always capable of playing up to that standard.

At the risk of getting trashed and bashed I am going to say that Chris Bourque's loss also hurt the team. Many of you consider him a lesser player and even go so far as to claim he should not have been chosen in the first place but I feel he showed a lot of skill and determination. I thought he could have made a difference.

 

[Levitate]

i have to disagree that the forwards were capable...or at least consistantly capable.

except for the first two games, they had trouble putting on good consistant pressure and finding a way to entire the zone. a lot of times they'd carry the puck in and get forced wide or knocked off the puck, or get a weak shot from the blueline. in the zone they were forced to play on the perimeter for the most part and could rarely get to the slot with any effectiveness

then when they dumped the puck in, the forechecking pressure was rarely there. they looked like a team without a strong gameplan, yes even the forwards

 

[guinness]

Eerie that the WJC hockey team has some of the same problems as with the basketball program, although in hockey, if this team can get a medal, it's all icing on the cake for me.

 

[beerpaul*]

Montoya played average against Russia in the quarter final. He played awful against the Swiss and Belarus, and was average at absolute best the rest of the tourny.

That's all conjecture. Glass has obviously played well enough for Canada to win, but he hasn't set the world on fire. It would have been interesting to see how he would have played if he was seeing the type of quality chances Montoya had coming at him wave after wave. Would he have held down the fort? I can't answer that, and neither can you.