My Thoughts: Olympic Preliminary Round

Wow.  Just wow.  What a great preliminary round of hockey! 

I haven’t been doing too much to keep track of the Olympics here on Wild Nation because, quite frankly, I haven’t really wanted to. 

Pardon me for a second while I hide in shame. 

…… 

Okay.  Now that I’m done feeling great shame, let’s get on with it.  The preliminary rounds are finished and the seeding has been established… 

Sooooooooooooooo…. 

What better time than now to talk about my impressions thus far in the tournament by taking a look at the big seven? 

#1 Seed; USA – If you would have told me when the teams were selected that the US would have a bye out of the quarter finals, I would have proceeded to laugh in your face.  I would have laughed even harder when you told me that the US would be the top seed.  Just like I would have laughed in your face if, two days ago you would have told me that Team Canada would get upwards of 40 shots on goal and the US would still beat them. 

Hold on a second.  They did? 

The bottom line is this: Despite two less than average games against two less than average teams, Team USA sits atop the heap. 

Why? 

Well, in my personal opinion, it’s because they are more than just an all-star team. 

This is a team built to play like a team.  When you see some of the other big teams in this tournament, it’s a veritable buffet of talent.  The US?  Don’t get me wrong.  These guys are good, but Team Canada, they ain’t. 

The Stars and Stripes are getting everything that they needed to be competitive in this tournament, however.  Good goaltending, solid team defense and, most importantly, chemistry and team play. 

I won’t anoint them as the gold medal winners yet because, quite honestly, seeds two through seven still scare the hell out of me in the “we can win at any point in time” category.  But a first seed still is quite a nice way to start out. 

#2 Seed; Sweden – First of all, let me say that this Team Sweden might be even better than the team that won the gold four years ago.  They might not be as dynamic on the offensive side of things, but holy crap are they good defensively! 

I’m the first to pile on the abuse to Henrik “Mattress Pads” Lundqvist, but even I have to admit that he’s having an absolutely stellar tournament so far.  Throw in the fact that the Wonder Twins and Alfie are clicking and that Nicklas Backstrom looks like a young Peter Forsberg and you’ve got one dangerous team.  It’s too bad that Peter Forsberg himself is looking more like an old Peter Forsberg. 

Have I mentioned yet that ol’ Mattress Pads has yet to give up a goal in this tournament? 

Because it’s true. 

Everyone has always said that the Olympics typically hinge on a goaltender getting and staying hot and, well, ain’t no one hotter than Hank right now. 

You could have notched his first shutout up to the fact that it was against Germany, but his second?  Against the hated Finns.  

You’ve got to love Sweden’s chances to give themselves some more Olympic hardware this time around too, because there’s no way that players like Forsberg, Hornqvist and Zetterberg are going to stay silent forever. 

#3 Seed; Russia – Seriously.  I’m not even playing in this tournament and looking at this team’s top two lines scares the crap out of me. 

Need a goal?  Just go ahead and stick Semalchkin out there.  Or what about Afinokovalsyuk? 

All funny line naming aside, any team faces a significant problem when squaring off against Russia.  The loss aside, both Nabokov and Bryzgalov are having a tremendous tournament and are playing great hockey.  

What’s even more impressive is that the team’s third and fourth lines and defense are sharing the load, taking some of the pressure off of their big six. 

Of course their big players are going to be chipping in, but when you have players like Radulov, Fedorov and Zaripov pitching in, not to mention Morozov, that makes for a dangerous, dangerous team. 

Of course, what everybody is salivating over is the potential Quarter-Final matchup between Ovechkin and Crosby, and that is definitely a possibility.  To have that rivalry bubble over into the Olympics would be something extremely special. 

Just so long as we don’t overlook the other fantastic players in the matchup. 

#4 Seed; Finland – If there’s any team that has the potential to both explode or shut down an opponent at any point in time, it’s the Finns. 

First, their scoring is extremely balanced.  Only two players have more than two points for them.  You shut down Saku Koivu’s line and you’re looking at facing Mikko Koivu’s.  Shut down them and you still have Antti Miettinen’s to deal with. 

Second, they probably have the deepest goaltending of any team in the tournament, save for Team Canada.  With Kipprusoff and Backstrom, right away they have two world class goaltenders and Nittymakki isn’t lagging too far behind at the moment. 

The one thing that has hindered the Finns so far has been consistency.  After two inspired performances, the team laid an egg against the Swedes—a goose egg. 

Granted, the situation in nets looks a touch different for the Swedes than it did for Belarus and Germany, but there’s no telling how dangerous this Finnish team can be if they can get on a roll. 

With their depth, they have the potential to be dangerous—much more than they’ve already exhibited.  But, the cold facts so far reveal a team that might have problems scoring in a one-and-done game. 

#5 Seed; Czech Republic – Many people’s bronze medal choice has just seen their road to the medal round made a touch harder with their loss to the Russian’s. 

Now, after dispatching Latvia (let’s be honest…does anyone expect that they won’t?) the Czechs now need to go through a defensively tough Finnish team. 

Can they do it?  Absolutely.  But it won’t be easy. 

One thing that really stands out about the Czechs is that their defensive unit in front of Vokoun is really nothing to be scared of.  Nothing against Kaberle, Kubina and Kuba, but this is not a defensive unit that is capable of playing at an extremely high level for an entire game—especially not against the likes of Canada or Russia. 

Vokoun is going to need help if they Czechs want to move past Finland, and this defensive unit might very well not be up to the task. 

On the other hand…Man are these guys fun to watch.  This is a team built for offense, and if they can keep the tempo and direction of the game in their favor they’re going to win more often than they lose. 

#6 Seed; Canada – Wow.  I mean, wow.  You go from the team considered to be the front runner to the sixth seed in one game? 

That’s just brutal. 

It is, however, the nature of the beast. 

Throw in the fact that you now have the added distraction of a goalie controversy and an impending match up against the Russian juggernaut and you’ve got one tough situation. 

In the impending game against Germany (and, likely, the rest of the tournament), expect to see Bobby Lou in nets.  Not only has Brodeur essentially lost the job after laying an egg against Team USA, but Luongo deserves the chance to show that it’s time for a changing of the guard. 

I don’t envy the Germans’ position right now, as they are facing off against a Canadian team that has just been upset on their home ice, in front of all of their countrymen. 

A message is going to be sent against Germany, in a big way. 

But, to be fair, it wasn’t all Brodeur’s fault against the Americans.  Plain and simple, the Canadians took 45 shots and scored just three times.  Their offense has got to be better at picking their spots and burying the puck. 

Especially if they’re going to be successful against Russia. 

#7 Seed; Slovakia – This Slovakian team is a riddle wrapped inside an enigma wrapped in a puzzle.  

Gaborik, Hossa, Demitra, Chara.  Some world class players. 

Yet just one regulation win. 

After scoring early against the Czech Republic, Gaborik has all but disappeared, only adding to the talk that he cracks under pressure.  Hossa and Demitra have been two of the team’s best players, along with Michael Handzus who has continued his strong play from this season. 

What’s more, is that Jaroslav Halak has looked surprisingly (in my opinion) solid in net.  He has started all three games and given up just four goals. 

Their defense has been fantastic.  If their offense can get going, it could make for an interesting quarter final match should they get by Tore Vikingstad and the Norwegians. 

So there you have it.  That’s my thoughts on the “big seven.”  The playoff qualifiers are tomorrow, and it should be a fun-filled day of hockey as the tension gets ratcheted up a couple notches!