Right now, the U.S. is as close as anyone to winning gold. They need to win three best-of-ones. In hockey, in a best-of-one, anything can happen.
Now that I'm done stating the obvious/throwing out the cliches, here's what the U.S. is up against in the first of three best-of-ones: an incredibly well-rounded team whose team play is as good as I've ever seen at a best-on-best tournament. The Finns can beat a team any way. Run and gun? They'll score. Battle of special teams? They'll win. Physical game? Finns have been working to churn out North American style players for the past decade. They're big, they're strong, they're physical and they can skate. That's why you can't beat them in a speed battle, either. Defensive battle? They execute their system brilliantly, from their best forwards to their No. 7 defenceman and 13th forward. When you do break through, their goaltending will stop you. This team did absolutely everything right in the round-robin, but this isn't the round-robin, and as stated before, anything can happen in the playoffs.
Two things the U.S. has working in its favour:
1) The normally inconsistent Rick DiPietro has been great in this tournament. If he plays to potential tomorrow, he will give the U.S. a chance to win.
2) The U.S. remembers what the fins did to them in the 2004 World Cup semis. They'll be looking for revenge.
Now that I'm done stating the obvious/throwing out the cliches, here's what the U.S. is up against in the first of three best-of-ones: an incredibly well-rounded team whose team play is as good as I've ever seen at a best-on-best tournament. The Finns can beat a team any way. Run and gun? They'll score. Battle of special teams? They'll win. Physical game? Finns have been working to churn out North American style players for the past decade. They're big, they're strong, they're physical and they can skate. That's why you can't beat them in a speed battle, either. Defensive battle? They execute their system brilliantly, from their best forwards to their No. 7 defenceman and 13th forward. When you do break through, their goaltending will stop you. This team did absolutely everything right in the round-robin, but this isn't the round-robin, and as stated before, anything can happen in the playoffs.
Two things the U.S. has working in its favour:
1) The normally inconsistent Rick DiPietro has been great in this tournament. If he plays to potential tomorrow, he will give the U.S. a chance to win.
2) The U.S. remembers what the fins did to them in the 2004 World Cup semis. They'll be looking for revenge.
