1998 czech Republic vs 2014 Canada team defense
- Thread starter connellc
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Big Phil
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- Nov 2, 2003
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Canada for sure. The Czechs played a style that was smothering, waiting for the other team to make a mistake and not taking charge. It worked, and with Hasek playing out of his mind that was their best chance at winning. With Canada they played a perfect game defensively as well as taking charge of the offense. The most offense on this team came from their defense. They also played a game that was "a great defense is a strong offense" mentality in which the other team wouldn't even touch the puck.
No doubt, Canada. The Czechs did play well as a team though.
No doubt, Canada. The Czechs did play well as a team though.
cujoflutie
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The main difference is that Canada played the game the traditional way. Any defensemen will look good when their style is to play with 2 forwards and 3 defense.
Difficult to compare, rules changes were made after this. 2-line pass and whatnot.
But yes, Hasek stonewalled the best offensive lineup that Canada has ever iced.
It went to penalties, and nobody beat him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb9-hbwmb0Y
I think that commentary highlights the problem - is this guy human? Hasek was such a wall that he was affecting the forwards thinking, so many great saves leading up to it that the shoulders drop, you're already beaten psychologically before you even try.
That's how good he was.
In '98 the NHL was in the midst of the dead puck era and everyone was so excited to see the world's most skilled players play offensive hockey at the Olympics. No one expected the Czech's to play such a stifling defensive game. I remember that game well and it was the Czech's team defense that got them to the shootout with Canada, not Hasek. Hasek was a big factor in the shootout but also keep in mind that this was before shootouts were used in North America and our inexperience in them was also a big factor. Also I don't think it was even close to the best offensive lineup we have ever iced. Gretzky was certainly past his prime and no Mario, there have been quite a few other Team Canada's that were stronger in this regard.
The Czech defense was working very well in 1998, and it was not only about Hašek. They weren't playing the Swiss trap either, were actually outplaying Canada for most of the semifinal game. We had a perfect coaching staff: a head coach who knew how to get the locker room on his side and keep it disciplined and focused, whom many players were idolizing while growing up and who had a certain aura around him (Hlinka), and an assistant coach who was an excellent analyst and had a tremendous knowledge (at least by Czech standards back then) of the American and Canadian hockey and their systems (Lener).
Unlike Canada this year, the defense did face big troubles during some stretches of the tournament. It was almost collapsing in the first period of the U.S. game (1/4 finals), the OT against Canada was also rather unconvincing. Also, it was a middle of the DPE defense, so that it was relying heavily on many forms of obstruction. Something like that wouldn't be working nowadays, even though it seems that the IIHF has somewhat reduced the number of obstruction calls recently and players are now getting away with things they weren't getting away with a few years ago.
Unlike Canada this year, the defense did face big troubles during some stretches of the tournament. It was almost collapsing in the first period of the U.S. game (1/4 finals), the OT against Canada was also rather unconvincing. Also, it was a middle of the DPE defense, so that it was relying heavily on many forms of obstruction. Something like that wouldn't be working nowadays, even though it seems that the IIHF has somewhat reduced the number of obstruction calls recently and players are now getting away with things they weren't getting away with a few years ago.
SergeiMomessov
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- Feb 13, 2014
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canuck2010
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Disagree with your statement that it was the best offensive lineup that Canada ever iced but agree that Hasek was a tremendous goalie.
Canada for sure. The Canadian team didn't have to sit back like the Czech's did, the Canadian team played great defence while still maintaing their traditional style of play. The team was overall so good, so fast and so dominant that it kind of looked too easy at times for them. The States and Sweden were smothered all game.
Beau Knows
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MayDay
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2014 Canada has a better defense for sure, but 1998 Hasek was superhuman. One of the best players in the history of the game at his absolute peak. I don't think anyone could have beaten him.
Relative to their competition, I’d actually rate the Czech’s higher than Canada. People tend to forget that in the Semi Final, Roy was the busier goalie of the 2, and Hasek wasn’t forced to play great (save the Overtime and Shootout). The final was a masterful job at shutting down a very high powered Russia (20 shots in the final).
They may have given up twice as many goals as Canada, but they also only had one “easy†game, against Kazakhstan. Sure, it was pretty to watch, but they played a great “trap†game.
They may have given up twice as many goals as Canada, but they also only had one “easy†game, against Kazakhstan. Sure, it was pretty to watch, but they played a great “trap†game.
