Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

[Diablo25]

WOW. Awesome game and NBC didn't broadcast it...what a joke.

ABC didnt show the miracle vs the USSR live so thats just about par for the course in the US.

True, but ABC didn't have multiple other stations to kick the bobsled or ice dancing or curling to.

[WPatrick]

Great game, man I Love Olympic hockey. GO USA!

[XXXIV]

Wouldn't be surprised if Babcock went with Luongo for the next game against Germany.

After that performance, if he doesnt make a switch at goal, Babcock needs to be checked into a mental health facility.

[XXXIV]

WOW. Awesome game and NBC didn't broadcast it...what a joke.

ABC didnt show the miracle vs the USSR live so thats just about par for the course in the US.

True, but ABC didn't have multiple other stations to kick the bobsled or ice dancing or curling to.

Agreed. NBC are the bigger douchebags.

[MizzouRah]

Luongo sucks.. hahah.. j/k

One of the most exciting games I've watched.. wow.. great action.. Miller was stellar as well as Rafalski and Langenbrunner.

[XXXIV]

Luongo sucks.. hahah.. j/k

Not so funny...Id go with Fleury

[pk500]

It's hard to blame Brodeur when you have a stiff like Pronger in front of you doing nothing but cross-checking and getting burnt like a piece of toast or a fossil like Niedermayer coughing up the puck behind his net.

Very fun game to watch, but the early turnovers by Canada were killers. Plus Brodeur was to blame on the second goal when he tried to bat it out of the zone. Rafalski's shot was a near-whiff, so it really confused Brodeur.

Miller was the best player on the ice, period. But Rick Nash wasn't far behind. He was a BEAST for Canada. If only Iginla played with half of the fire and intensity. Iggy was flat-out invisible on the line with Nash and Crosby. He didn't hit, he didn't skate, he did nothing. Babcock should make a change on that line.

It also was pretty telling at the end of the game that Babcock had Doughty playing at the point instead of Pronger. Doughty was very good all game, while Pronger showed that he's just too old, slow and reliant on the cross-check as a defensive tactic to still be relevant in a fast-skating Olympic game.

It also was pretty telling that the Float Line -- Marleau, Heatley and Thornton -- barely saw the ice in the third. That trio is a complete waste of space and time.

Ron Wilson did a great job of coaching, in two areas. One, he sent in two aggressive forecheckers almost all the time, which kept the Canadian D men on their heels on the breakout. And the U.S. did a GREAT job at keeping the Canadians on the walls when the puck was in the American zone for the first 55 minutes of the game. And Miller bailed out the U.S. when Canada finally got good chances in the slot in the last five minutes of the game.

Rafalski is such a rock. So smooth, so smart, so clutch. And it was very sweet to see Old Man Drury score for the U.S. He has figured out his role on this team -- leadership, defense, hustle, heart. Iginla could take a page from Drury's book, as he looks absolutely lost as the third fiddle on the line with Crosby and Nash.

[RobVarak]

Finally some small measure of revenge for making us have to put up with Celine Dion.

Nice to see a game where the action lives up to the billing. Great fun to watch.

Incidentally, WTF is up with "Canada Hockey Place" for a venue name. Who named it, The Hulk?

[dbdynsty25]

I actually thought Kane was one of the better players on the ice tonight. He was everywhere...especially in the 2nd and 3rd periods.

[XXXIV]

It's hard to blame Brodeur when you have a stiff like Pronger in front of you doing nothing but cross-checking and getting burnt like a piece of toast or a fossil like Niedermayer coughing up the puck behind his net.

Not that hard at all. He was really bad. The 2nd and 3rd goal were directly his doing..... but you are right about Pronger. Its hard to believe a guy can be glued to ice like that.

[pk500]

I actually thought Kane was one of the better players on the ice tonight. He was everywhere...especially in the 2nd and 3rd periods.

The maxim is true in every sport: Speed kills. Kane was sharp.

[Jimmydeicide]

The trapezoid... best thing that ever happened to Brodeur.

Just too add too NBC's pathetic coverage is having the 3rd period of the taped Russia game on the main channel when the Start of the Canada U.S. game was on live on a cable station, any hockey fan they did have was surely switching over to watch the other game.

The nielsen rating when the U.S. game started on channel 4 was 6 Russians 1 Czech and a guy from Belarus who thought CCCP where still together.

Great game i hope they meet again so it can meen something.
Doughty still impresses so much poise even on that stage.

[XXXIV]

Great game, man I Love Olympic hockey. GO USA!

I really hope the NHL keeps disrupting its season for me . This s*** is fun!...Playoff intensity early. A semi all star game that counts.

Besides this game tonight. The Russia-Czeck game was also fun to watch...Looking forward to Finland Sweden.

It usually takes me til a couple of weeks before the playoffs to get excited but Im pretty pumped for the rest of the NHL season now.

[MizzouRah]

Luongo sucks.. hahah.. j/k

Not so funny...Id go with Fleury

[10spro]

It's hard to blame Brodeur when you have a stiff like Pronger in front of you doing nothing but cross-checking and getting burnt like a piece of toast or a fossil like Niedermayer coughing up the puck behind his net.

Not that hard at all. He was really bad. The 2nd and 3rd goal were directly his doing..... but you are right about Pronger. Its hard to believe a guy can be glued to ice like that.

Brodeur had an off night. Period. For a guy that can handle the puck outside the crease with ease, he failed to clear it in the first goal, swat it in the air for the second and was gone fishing in the third. You guys know what I thought of Pronger since day one, if I were Stevie Y, I would have gone with a guy like Jovanoski if he wanted experience in the back end. He's way more mobile than #20.

D. Doughty is gaining confidence every shift I see him, and regarding Iginla, I have a feeling that he's playing hurt especially when he got rocked in the game with the Swiss team, he just hasn't been the same.

Rafalski is such a calming voice playing D and out of all the fine goaltenders that are playing in Vancouver, I always thought that Miller was the most consistent dude. He was incredible tonight.

With both teams struggling who would have guessed for a possible Russia-Canada quarters on Wednesday?

[ScoopBrady]

Just when I thought that the Russia/Czech game couldn't be outdone in skates the USA and Canada. What a day of hockey!

[tjung0831]

It's hard to blame Brodeur when you have a stiff like Pronger in front of you doing nothing but cross-checking and getting burnt like a piece of toast or a fossil like Niedermayer coughing up the puck behind his net.

Not that hard at all. He was really bad. The 2nd and 3rd goal were directly his doing..... but you are right about Pronger. Its hard to believe a guy can be glued to ice like that.

Brodeur had an off night. Period. For a guy that can handle the puck outside the crease with ease, he failed to clear it in the first goal, swat it in the air for the second and was gone fishing in the third. You guys know what I thought of Pronger since day one, if I were Stevie Y, I would have gone with a guy like Jovanoski if he wanted experience in the back end. He's way more mobile than #20.

D. Doughty is gaining confidence every shift I see him, and regarding Iginla, I have a feeling that he's playing hurt especially when he got rocked in the game with the Swiss team, he just hasn't been the same.

Rafalski is such a calming voice playing D and out of all the fine goaltenders that are playing in Vancouver, I always thought that Miller was the most consistent dude. He was incredible tonight.

With both teams struggling who would have guessed for a possible Russia-Canada quarters on Wednesday?

Canada better plan on getting by Germany first!

Tim

[XXXIV]

Canada better plan on getting by Germany first!

Tim

Ouch!

[fsquid]

we continue to own Canada in all things but snow.

[RallyMonkey]

I'm not going to take anything away from the excitement of the game yesterday as i was locked in and there was a definite through-the-roof level of intensity throughout the 60 minutes, but to say that was the level of hockey expected from the best in the world would be a massive over-statement.

When i watch i still see a slew of individual talent struggling to try and work together as a cohesive unit and it's just not working. If they are going to continue to use NHL'ers in the Olympics, which it looks like they may not beyond this year, there needs to be an even greater "All-Star break" so that these teams can spend at least a couple of weeks practicing together. (And yes, i realize the NHL will never allow it as even these couple of weeks is cutting into profits)

As a straight all-star game, last night would have been phenomenal. As a pseudo world cup event between two of the best teams in the world, well, i would like to see a little more.

[ScoopBrady]

I don't know what you're smoking Monkey but ship some my way. Canada had 45 shots and countless scoring opportunities and they weren't cohesive? What do you need, 70 shots and 10 goals? I guess that's a testament to just how good Miller played last night that somebody could come away saying that Canada didn't look cohesive. Let's just agree to disagree with your assessment.

[pk500]

I don't know what you're smoking Monkey but ship some my way. Canada had 45 shots and countless scoring opportunities and they weren't cohesive? What do you need, 70 shots and 10 goals? I guess that's a testament to just how good Miller played last night that somebody could come away saying that Canada didn't look cohesive. Let's just agree to disagree with your assessment.

+1

Canada didn't look cohesive because the U.S. forecheckers made the old Canadian D men look old and slow while they tried to start the breakout from their zone.

That game had the intensity of any Stanley Cup Finals game. It also had some great end-to-end action.

I'm not sure what more any hockey fan could have wanted.

[Jimmydeicide]

Canada's frustration was no more evident than when Scott Niedermeyer slams Jack Johnson into the glass at the end of the second.
You never see stuff like that from him.

[fsquid]

WOW. Awesome game and NBC didn't broadcast it...what a joke.

ABC didnt show the miracle vs the USSR live so thats just about par for the course in the US.

True, but ABC didn't have multiple other stations to kick the bobsled or ice dancing or curling to.

Miracle on Ice also happened in the afternoon on a weekday.

[Spooky]

Ummmm...WOW! The intensity that occurred throughout that entire game was just incredible. It was like watching a bunch of caged animals that had been poked with a stick for 6 months loose on the ice. Fun to watch!