Friday, February 19, 2010
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- It nearly was one of the greatest upsets in Olympic hockey history since ... well, since the last time Switzerland embarrassed Canada.
Sidney Crosby made sure it would not happen again.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Sidney Crosby scores the decisive shootout goal against Switzerland goaltender Jonas Hiller Thursday.
Four years ago to the day that the Swiss upset the sport's global powerhouse in Turin, Italy, they again tortured the Canadians with great goaltending: Jonas Hiller made 44 saves through regulation and overtime, then stoned Crosby and two others in the shootout. But Crosby, allowed to shoot again in a second round under Olympic rules, finally found an opening for a 3-2 victory before a capacity crowd at Canada Hockey Place.
Make that a barely breathing capacity crowd.
"Going through that wasn't something we wanted going into this game," Crosby said. "But I think it'll help us along the way."
Was it good enough for gold?
"I wouldn't say so, but the gold-medal game is not tomorrow. We need to look forward to the next game."
In Turin, it was Switzerland's Martin Gerber making 49 saves to beat Canada, 2-0, in a preliminary-round game, one still described here in venomous terms, and one that led to a seventh-place finish.
Here it was Hiller, the standup goaltender for the Anaheim Ducks and one of only two NHL players on the Swiss roster, carrying the day. Eighteen of his saves came in a tilted-ice third period in which Canada had an 18-3 edge, including two point-blank chances by Crosby, to sustain a 2-2 tie.
"Hiller was tremendous," Canada defenseman Chris Pronger said.
"We faced a great goalie again," goaltender Martin Brodeur said, referring to Turin. "And he made a big difference. We had to pull it out."
Canada had taken a 2-0 lead on Patrick Marleau's rebound goal 35 seconds into the second period, and all was going as scripted.
But the Swiss, as persistent in their checking as they were awkward with the puck, kept coming: Ivo Rutheman blistered a slap shot past Brodeur at 8:59 and, with 10 seconds left in the period, Patrick von Gunten's flick from the left boards caromed in off Marleau's skate to tie, 2-2.
Were the Swiss taken lightly?
"We respected them," Crosby said. "It wasn't a question of taking them lightly, just a couple of bounces that changed the game."
After a third period and overtime in which the Swiss kept attacking rather than sitting back, the shootout came.
Crosby was first and tried his favorite move, through the five-hole, but Hiller held fast. Jonathan Toews and Ryan Getzlaf were stopped, too, as were all three Swiss shooters by Brodeur.
There was a brief pause after that round, and Crosby was summoned again by Canada coach Mike Babcock, evidently aware that Crosby, who used to struggle on shootouts, is an NHL-best 6 of 8 for the Penguins this season.
"I wasn't sure what the format was, and Coach came over and said, 'Do you want to go again?' " Crosby recalled. "I said, 'Sure.' "
VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 18: Sidney Crosby of Canada celebrates scoring the game-winning goal in a shootout during the ice hockey men's preliminary game between Switzerland and Canada on day 7 of the 2010 Winter Olympics at Canada Hockey Place on February 18, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)So, Crosby led off the second round, too. This time, he abandoned any move and wristed the puck -- with authority -- between Hiller's body and blocker arm.
"I tried to get him to move the first time," Crosby said of Hiller. "But it's one of those nights where he wasn't going to budge a lot, so I just tried to keep it simple."
"I was happy with the first save," Hiller said. "He got me with the second one."
Brodeur stopped Switzerland's Martin Pluss with the glove hand, and it was over.
"Marty's the one who made those saves and gave me the second crack," Crosby said.
The wild celebration in the seats was far more animated than the whew look of the Canadian players as they came off the ice. Their final preliminary game is Sunday against the United States, and a loss to the Swiss would have endangered their seeding.
Never mind that it would have panicked a nation.
Asked if pressure was a factor for the Canadian players, Babcock quickly replied, "Oh, yeah, no question."
Even one of the most storied goaltenders in history admitted it.
"It's tough for me, knowing it's a pressure game," Brodeur said. "People expect us to walk right through that team."
Good thing for the Canadians that Crosby seemed to keep his cool.
"I'm having fun," he answered when asked about pressure. "This is an incredible experience. To be a Canadian hockey player, playing in Canada, it doesn't get any better. We felt that out there. I'm sure we wanted a better result, but it's a short-term event. Again, we'll take it."
Crosby's shootout goal, by the way, counts toward official Olympic statistics, unlike in the NHL. Thus, it was his first at the Games.
Malone leads U.S. again, past Norway
Goal, assist spark 6-1 rout, move him atop American scoring list
Friday, February 19, 2010
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
Bruce Bennett./Getty Images
Ryan Malone celebrates scoring the Americans' fourth goal off a rebound Thursday.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- If Pittsburgh athletes are going to excel in this Olympic hockey tournament, chances are excellent it will be one of the Penguins' stars, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
So far, though, the most striking surprise might be Pittsburgh's only native Olympian.
Ryan Malone, born and raised in Upper St. Clair, again led the United States with a goal, an assist and a timely screen in the 6-1 rout of Norway Thursday at Canada Hockey Place. He is the Americans' leading scorer through two victories, and his line with Phil Kessel and Joe Pavelski has been the team's best by a wide margin.
"It's felt good so far, for our line and for the whole team," Malone said.
Malkin and his Russian team played in the late game against Slovakia.
Not much can be discerned from the first three days of Olympic hockey, given the lopsided early matchups, but it already is clear that Malone, a 21-goal man with the Tampa Bay Lightning, has raised his profile with the U.S. in his first Olympics: He has two goals, an assist, five shots and a team-best plus-3 rating.
"Honestly, as long as we're winning, everyone's happy," Malone said. "If you can contribute, that's OK, too."
Malone did that in several ways ...
In the first period, he and Pavelski tic-tac-toed through the neutral zone to spring Kessel for one of the prettiest goals of the tournament, a partial break that Kessel finished with a ferocious wrister past Norway's sturdy goaltender, Pal Grotnes.
After a thoroughly lifeless second period for the full team, and just a 3-1 lead against the tournament's least-regarded roster, Malone got the Americans going at 14:19 of the third by swatting a rebound past Grotnes, out of the air and on the rush. Later, he screened Grotnes for Rafalski's second goal.
Chris Drury and Patrick Kane had the other goals, and goaltender Ryan Miller continued to stand tall despite just 11 shots.
Most of the discussion afterward was about the flat second period, one that prompted coach Ron Wilson to shuffle every line except Malone's.
"Like any young team, we thought it was going to be easy," Wilson said. "Our guys were guilty of looking past Norway and ahead to Canada."
That is the Americans' next opponent Sunday, the end of the preliminary round.
Defenseman Brooks Orpik said the U.S. was slow to adjust to Norway changing tactics in the first intermission, from an ultra-passive brand of the trap to an aggressive forecheck.
"They kind of caught us by surprise, and that shouldn't have happened," Orpik said. "But it was a good way to finish, especially going into the Canada game."
Dejan Kovacevic: dkovacevic@post-gazette.com. Find more at our Dejan Kovacevic at the Olympics blog.
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First published on February 18, 2010 at 11:37 pm
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