shawn_kemp*
Guest
MayDay said:
One more worthless effort by TSN! Keep up the good work!
Slovakia ahead of Russia, USA and Finland? Sure ...
MayDay said:
12# Peter Bondra said:Why not ahead of the US?
Obviously Canada is #1, Czech seems like a reasonable #2 especially since they dominated Canada in the World Championships...technically they should be #1 IMO though since they are reigning champs against virtually the same Canadian team (minus Niedermayer, Jovo, etc.)MayDay said:
Metallian said:Obviously Canada is #1, Czech seems like a reasonable #2 especially since they dominated Canada in the World Championships...technically they should be #1 IMO though since they are reigning champs against virtually the same Canadian team (minus Niedermayer, Jovo, etc.)
I dont see how Slovakia is ahead of Russia though...thats just
Ovechkin_mvp said:Leon: I personally like Slovak's forwards, you have got 2 great lines there, then there's a great defensive pair of Chara and Visnovsky.
Overall defence, however, is the weakest of the top 7. Lasak or Budaj, in my opinion are not Olympic caliber goalies.
This is how I based my power rankings.
I still wish Slovaks a great tournament.
Hell, you never know. Can vs Ger comes to mind, or Can vs Finland, Rus vs USA, those were all one goal games......
therealdeal said:Yeah, same team +sakic, iginla, st. louis, lecavelier, richards, blake, pronger, bouwmeester, Bertuzzi, not like any of them are important.![]()
Metallian said:or Canada vs. Ukraine
that was a nail biter, being 1-1 for most of the game
or Ukraines 1-0 upset of USA
awesome games to watch, love seeing us Ukies playing dirty and cheating to win, while our no-name goalie stands on his head
unfortunatewe somehow didn't qualify yet italy and khazakstan did..
Ovechkin_mvp said:Leon: I personally like Slovak's forwards, you have got 2 great lines there, then there's a great defensive pair of Chara and Visnovsky.
Overall defence, however, is the weakest of the top 7. Lasak or Budaj, in my opinion are not Olympic caliber goalies.
This is how I based my power rankings.
I still wish Slovaks a great tournament.
Hell, you never know. Can vs Ger comes to mind, or Can vs Finland, Rus vs USA, those were all one goal games......
Bure Fan said:I'm not going to rank anybody, but I am going to hope to hell that the Russian team gives it all they've got and it ends up being a Canada Russia final. (Moskau Moskau! http://moskaudance.ytmnd.com ) Is that possible? How are the teams grouped; I can't even remember how it goes at the Olympic Games.
12# Peter Bondra said:Why not ahead of the US?
PRMan said:The US defense is way better and their offense very close to Slovakia. Neither has good goaltending. It's a toss-up in my mind, and I'm in the US (but I'm an LA Kings fan, so I am VERY familiar with the Slovak team).
Nobody has mentioned that Canada is pretty banged up. That could turn into problems. Also, there are huge distractions with Gretzky and they didn't name a complete team with bangers and thugs this year (like they FINALLY did 4 years ago). It's the same all-star team they always name that toasts the little guys and then loses the big games. I expect a Bronze for Canada at best.
PRMan said:The US defense is way better and their offense very close to Slovakia. Neither has good goaltending. It's a toss-up in my mind, and I'm in the US (but I'm an LA Kings fan, so I am VERY familiar with the Slovak team).
Nobody has mentioned that Canada is pretty banged up. That could turn into problems. Also, there are huge distractions with Gretzky and they didn't name a complete team with bangers and thugs this year (like they FINALLY did 4 years ago). It's the same all-star team they always name that toasts the little guys and then loses the big games. I expect a Bronze for Canada at best.
shawn_kemp said:what does "banged up" mean?
nbcolympics.com said:At the 1998 Nagano Olympics, where the doors swung open to professional hockey players for the first time, the country was shaken to its icy roots when a team led by Wayne Gretzky, the National Hockey League's (NHL) all-time leading scorer, and stocked with a Hall of Fame lineup failed to win not just the gold but a medal of any color.
The crushing embarrassment sparked calls for a parliamentary inquiry along with deep soul-searching and debate as Canadians attempted to come to grips with the reasons behind their decline in the sport they claim to have invented and dominated.
After Nagano, the downward spiral continued as Canada failed to reach the podium at the next four world championships, leaving little optimism that a 50-year gold medal drought would end in Salt Lake City.
Bereft of answers and nearly out of hope, Canada turned to Gretzky for guidance and the "Great One", as he always had as a player, responded to the call by assuming the role of Team Canada executive director.
Captain_Cunney said:I'm assuming he is refering to the injuries to Neidemayer and Jovonoski.......we will probably only really miss Neid's, Jovo is ever so over-rated, IMO.
The D is still pretty solid:
Blake-Pronger
Foote-Redden
Jay-Bo - Regeir
McCabe
Toronto Star said:Edmonton Oilers defenceman Chris Pronger has confirmed he has a cracked bone in his foot but says the injury will not keep him out of the Olympics.
"It hurts to walk but it feels pretty good to skate," Pronger said.
Pronger was injured Monday night while blocking a shot against Anaheim. An X-ray Thursday confirmed the crack.
BLAKE READY, TOO: Team Canada got a scare Friday night when veteran defenceman Rob Blake of the Colorado Avalanche left after the second period in a 4-1 win over Columbus with a strained groin muscle. But it appears it's nothing too serious. Olympic team trainer Jim Ramsay phoned Blake and was assured the blueliner was okay.
PRMan said:What country is that? All those flags look the same to me. ENGLAND? Yeah, hotbed of hockey knowledge there.
Anyway...
It's not Canada and it's not the US, so clearly you are speaking about something that probably isn't reported as well there as it is here. In fact, hockey probably isn't reported at all in England. (I won't tell you about Manchester United, 'kay?)
OK, history lesson for you:
2001. Canada has not won Olympic Gold in their sport for 50 YEARS! The Great One is brought in to be the savio(u)r of Canadian hockey.
So, what does the Great One do? He immediately names a team not of all of Canada's all-stars (meaning guys that score tons of goals and regularly go to the NHL All-Star Game), but containing a full forward line of "bangers" (these are guys that NEVER make an All-Star Game).
This is the one constant in the Olympic hockey tournament and yet most countries continue to field All-Star teams.