No upsets in the Qualifying Round, but we were very very close to some. In fact, only one game was decided before the 3rd period.
SWITZERLAND 3, BELARUS 2 (SO) Switzerland's best asset - their goalie - almost cost them this game. Less than a minute in, he horribly mishandled a routine softshot (my word for when the puck just drifts in on the goalie from like a deflection at the blue line), and Alexei Kaliuzhny hacked away until the puck went in. But the Swiss rebounded with a big power play goal, and eventually won in the shootout. If Jonas Hiller and the Swiss decide to show up, they could harass the US.
CANADA 8, GERMANY 2 Well, Canada might have impressed some people with this win, but I'm not sold... yet. Germany has been awful in this competition. Crushing them 8-2 doesn't mean much. But at least maybe the Canadians can take some confidence out of such a lopsided win. Iginla scored twice, so he now has 5 goals, but 0 in tight/meaningful games. Eric Staal had 3 assists, and Drew Doughty was +4. Canada vs. Russia in the quarterfinals.
CZECH REPUBLIC 3, LATVIA 2 (OT) Another scare for a top team. Latvia finished 12th in the Preliminary Stage, so needing OT to beat them is pretty sad. David Krejci had the game winner in OT (why can't he do that for us once and awhile?) and an assist in regulation. The Czechs face Finland in the quarterfinals.
SLOVAKIA 4, NORWAY 3 I picked Norway to beat the Slovaks, and they put up a damn good fight. But Miroslav returned from injury and netted the game winner in the 3rd. Richard Zednick had 2 assists, and Zdeno Chara had 1 assist. The Slovaks face Sweden in the quarterfinals.
A comprehensive preview of the Quarterfinal Round shall be forthcoming a bit later today.
So, we have seeds 5 thru 12 playing off against each other, with 4 teams advancing to the quarterfinals. I have no qualms with the way this tournament has been formatted, but they didn't do anything to make it easy to explain.
Here are the games Tuesday, and my little previews/predictions. In parenthesis, you'll see who the winner of each game will play in the quarterfinals.
3pm - USA Network: Belarus vs. Switzerland (winner vs. USA) A pair of scrappy teams with only a few NHLers. This game provides the best matchup of Tuesday's action (not surprisingly, it's the 8th seed vs. the 9th seed). Switzerland has impressed me a great deal. Not only has Jonas Hiller been excellent, but the Swiss have executed a watertight defensive gameplan. They lost to the US 3-1, took Canada to a shootout before losing in 4 rounds, and then beat Norway.
Belarus fought hard against #2 seeded Sweden (say that 3 times fast), but I don't think they have the firepower to overcome Hiller or the Swiss' stifling defensive play.
Switzerland 3, Belarus 1
8pm - CNBC: Canada vs. Germany (winner vs. Russia) Both teams have disappointed me, but the Canadians hockey team might be the biggest Olympic disappointment in the history of the Winter Games... so far.
I expected more from a German side with 7 NHL players. I remember in '98 when the Germans had 0 NHLers on their squad. But they've lost their identity. They're trying to be like Finland when they should play more like Switzerland. Will they figure this out? Yes. Will it matter? No.
Canada rolls over Germany as if it were curling, 7-0.
10pm - CNBC: Latvia vs. Czech Republic (winner vs. Finland)
The only team worse than Germany is Latvia. These teams met in group play, with the Czechs finishing on top 5-2. Latvia scored half their goals in that game. The Czechs will cruise in this one, 6-1.
12am - CNBC: Norway vs. Slovakia (winner vs. Sweden) The Slovaks lost to the Czechs, then beat the mighty Russians, and crushed the lowly Latvians. It's hard to really gauge how they're playing.
Norway lost all their games, but they did take Switzerland to overtime. They're big, they don't have anything to lose. Canada and the US simply outclassed the Norwegians, but I don't think Slovakia has the talent to do the same thing. I'm picking an upset here, with the Norwegians winning 3-2 in OT.
So when I'm right, the quarterfinals will be: USA vs. Switzerland Canada vs. Russia (juicy) Czech Republic vs. Finland Norway vs. Sweden
You know what, the US's route to the Gold Medal Game could be Switzerland then Finland or Czech Republic. They won't have to face Sweden, Canada, or Russia unless it's for the Gold (which means a Silver when they lose). Not too shabby a bracket for the USA.
What an excellent showcase day for the sport of hockey. The Czechs, Russians, Americans, Canadians, Finns, and Swedes all took the ice. All three games to determine Group winners and receivers of that coveted bye to the quarterfinals.
RUSSIA 4, CZECH REPUBLIC 2 If Crosby and Ovechkin are the Peyton Manning and Tom Brady of the NHL, Evgeni Malkin is the Drew Brees. He doesn't get as much hype, but he delivers almost as much on the ice. He scored twice, with an assist on the game-sealing emptynetter. Oh yeah, the Ruskies have Alexander Ovechkin who had two assists. And another slightly underappreciated quality player in Pavel Datsyuk, who had a goal and an assist. Evgeni Nabokov remains undefeated as Russia wins Group B.
U.S.A. 5, CANADA 3 Four words to describe this contest: Sixty minute highlight reel. Every second of this was sheer genius. This was as hard fought as the Norway/Switzerland match over the weekend, but only on a much higher stratosphere of talent.
Ryan Miller made 42 saves in this game. He stayed poised under blizzards of pressure, and looked chill even when in desperation mode. He's Team USA's biggest weapon, as he's arguably the best goalie in the tournament.
Brian Rafalski had the big night on the score sheet with 2 goals and an assist.
Sidney Crosby had a goal, but was -3 on the night. Too bad.
The US's goals were a bit on the "lucky" side, but in hockey, good luck tends to follow guys who put themselves in good positions. The US was smart with the puck, and strong without the puck. They fought for every millimeter of ice with a zealous determination. They had an underdog's attitude with a starving dog's tenacity, and emerged as top dogs, winning Group A and going undefeated in the preliminary round.
SWEDEN 3, FINLAND 0 Watch out for the Swedes, the other undefeated team in preliminary play. They started off a bit slow, but now they're really rolling. 25 year old Loui Eriksson of the Dallas Stars scored a pair of power play goals, and Nicklas Backstrom had a goal with 2 assists as the Swedes dominated their rematch of the '06 Gold Medal Game.
As an American, it's difficult not to be proudly optimistic this morning, but the watching utterly stacked teams like Sweden fills me with dread. Thankfully, the US can only meet Sweden in the Gold Medal Game.
Now on to the Elimination Stage.
The late goals the US netted against Norway, as well as Ryan Kesler's empty-netter helped give the US the #1 seed thanks to goal differential (+9, Sweden's was +7). The US won Group A, Russia won Group B, and Sweden won Group C. Finland finished with 6 points and a better GD (goal differential) than the Czechs, so Finland also earned a bye to the quarterfinals. Here are the full standings from the Group Stage:
1. USA 2. Sweden 3. Russia 4. Finland ---------------- 5. Czech Republic 6. Canada 7. Slovakia 8. Switzerland 9. Belarus 10. Norway 11. Germany 12. Latvia
Here's the schedule for Tuesday (Eastern start time - network - game):
3pm - USA - Belarus vs. Switzerland (winner plays USA) 8pm - CNBC - Canada vs. Germany (winner plays Russia) 10pm - CNBC - Latvia vs. Czech Republic (winner plays Finland) 12am - CNBC - Norway vs. Slovakia (winner plays Sweden)
I hate being cynical. That's a lie. I love being cynical. And while normally an 87-86 road win against the Lakers would be monumental, I'm not going to throw a parade for beating a Kobe-less Laker team.
Granted, LA was 4-0 without Kobe. The Patriots once went 11-5 without Tom Brady.
The Lakers aren't the real Lakers without Kobe. The Celtics played a solid defensive game, which is made easier without Kobe.
But wins are wins are wins. And those wins are at a premium right now. The Celtics, Hawks, and Magic are separated by 1.5 games. And the Celtics have lost many more games because of their injuries than they've won because of their opponents'.
Ray Allen led the C's in scoring with 24 (10/15 from the field, 4/6 for 3). KG had 14 with 8 boards. Kendrick Perkins had a great night, with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Rondo also had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The bench only scored 12 points, which will hopefully change once Robinson arrives.
USA 6, NORWAY 1 Don't let the final score fool you. The US didn't dominate this game. At least not as much as they should. You might think Norway is great at hockey, but they're not. One of their players is a carpenter. Yet this was a 3-1 game going into the 3rd.
Phil Kessel had a goal and an assist, as did Ryan Malone. Brian Raflaski had a pair of junktime goals in the last 3 minutes of the 3rd. Ryan Miller only had to stop 10 of the 11 shots he faced, but he did have an assist.
CANADA 3, SWITZERLAND 2 (SO) Canada should not need a shootout to beat Switzerland. The Swiss have 2 NHL players. Goalie Jonas Hiller and defenseman Mark Streit. That's it. Nevertheless, they stymied an All-Star team from Canada, and stole a point from the tournament favorites.
The Swiss have been the surprise of the tournament, thus far. They only lost 3-1 to the US, and they forced Canada into a shootout in their second game. They should beat Norway to round out their group play. And their sound defensive play could pose a problem to future contenders.
In the round-robin stage, teams are given 3 points for regulation wins, 2 points for OT wins, and 1 point for OT losses. So Canada only having 5 points is a major surprise. And Switzerland could finish the stage with 4 points, which is a significant achievement for a country that didn't even qualify for The Games 12 years ago.
SLOVAKIA 2, RUSSIA 1 (SO) What a great game. Once again, the best matchup of the night started at 12:30 AM Eastern Time, so many people missed this contest. Zdeno Chara and Alex Ovechkin battled all night long, and it was more physical than when the Caps play the Bruins. Alexei Morozov scored for the Russians in the 2nd, Marian Hossa scored for the Slovakians with about 10 minutes to go in the 3rd. The shootout went 7 rounds before Pavol Demitra beat Bryzgalov.
This was a huge win for the Slovakians, who had lost 3-1 to the Czech Republic the night before. Group B is now totally up for grabs.
Today's games: 3pm on MSNBC: Sweden vs. Belarus 8pm on CNBC: Czech Republic vs. Latvia 12am on MSNBC: Finland vs. Germany
Why couldn't the C's make this move BEFORE the dunk contest?
The Celtics will send Eddie House, JR Giddens, and Bill Walker to the Knicks in exchange for Nate Robinson and rookie forward Marcus Landry.
I like this deal, but only a little. While it improves the Celtics by providing the bench with a legitimate PG, it doesn't do anything beyond that. It doesn't make KG or Pierce 2 years younger. It doesn't alleviate Ray Allen from his month long shooting slumps. And it doesn't make Rasheed Wallace stop taking threes.
The one position where the Celtics had both quality and youth was point guard. Now they have depth there. But they're still too agéd and injury prone to go beyond the 2nd round.
As much as I wish the NHL switched to European sized ice, thank God we still have North American style officiating. An automatic 10 minute misconduct just for knocking some guy in the head? And how soft did the refs call the Germany/Sweden game? Daniel Alfredsson draws a penalty by losing a shoving contest with a German. Lame.
FINLAND 5, BELARUS 1 The '06 Silver Medalists expectedly dominated Belarus, but compared to the other blowouts, this was one of the least impressive. But what does that matter? Only in goal differential (which is a tie-breaker). Finland went undefeated in the '06 Games until they met Sweden in the final, and their team is equally as "unimpressive" (in quotes, because it's relative compared to the other powerhouses in the tourney) as it was back then. Don't judge this team until they play Germany on Friday.
SWEDEN 2, GERMANY 0 Sweden won Gold in '06. Sweden is the #3 team. Germany was 10th in the '06 Olympics. Germany is ranked 12th in the world. As a German fan, I'm satisfied with a 2-0 loss. Especially since Sweden's first goal should have been waved off for a blatant goaltender's interference.
To be fair to the Swedes, they looked extremely rusty (except for Alfredsson). The number of offsides they had testified to this. They hardly ever put together the lengthy, pretty, passing plays they're capable of. This will probably be their worst performance of the tournament.
But look out for Germany. Finland, I'm talking to you. This team won't score much, but they can play defense. And it's not a boring, backfoot kind of defense like we saw from the Swiss, or from past German teams. It's a slightly more aggressive defense that could frustrate contending teams.
CZECH REPUBLIC 3, SLOVAKIA 1 Jaromir Jagr returned to North American ice with a goal and an assist, and Tomas Vokoun stopped 34 of 35 shots faced, propelling the Czechs to a victory in the first legitimately competetive matchup of the tournament. Marian Gaborik scored the lone Slovakian goal.
David Krejci was -1 for the Czechs, and Zdeno Chara registered 4 penalty minutes.
Today's games: 3pm on USA: USA vs. Norway 8pm on CNBC: Canada vs. Switzerland 12:30am on CNBC: Russia vs. Slovakia
Tough draw for the Slovakians, having to face the Czechs and Russians on back to back nights.
