GDT: Sweden vs. Canada | 12 February 2025 | 8:00 p.m. EST, 2:00 a.m. CET, 3:00 a.m. EET

[1989]

Why did Cooper play Sid so little especially in overtime . 17 mins for the game . Did he get injured again ?

Load management. You have a bunch of elite skating superstars under 30 go wave after wave, then throw Crosby into the mix. I can't imagine that'd be fun to coach against.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Might as well just put Mack with Cirelli and Hagel so they can back check in case he turns it over trying to play one man show and someone else can actually try to facilitate a play with the best player in the world

McDavid wasnt willing to shoot the puck tonight. You can complain all you want about Mack shooting non stop, but someone has to take the bull by the horns and shoot. You aint passing it into the net.

 

[GreatSaveEssensa]

Final will be full playoff style unlimited 5-5. If that game goes to multiple OTs...

Are you sure on that?

 

[McFlash97]

Mack shows McDavid whose the best everytime they play against one another. He dominates everytime

McDavid slices through defenseman like a hot knife through butter, Mack bulldozes through them. McDavids head is up when skating. Mackinnon looks down and is tunnel visioned. 2 different beasts

 

[boltsfan86]

Fair enough I didn't watch.

To be fair McDavid was also kind of underwhelming but MacKinnon basically did nothing other than tuck a perfect pass into a wide open net one minute into the game. But he was not exactly a team player

Are you sure on that?

I thought I saw that as well

 

[Alicat]

He's still a big game player and even though he's older. With the right players on his line he's still very effective

Exactly. Bruins fans have really turned on him this year. He had a slow start but he’s at 20 goals yet again and is on pace to be right where he’s been for the last 3-4 seasons.

 

[syz]

McDavid wasnt willing to shoot the puck tonight. You can complain all you want about Mack shooting non stop, but someone has to take the bull by the horns and shoot. You aint passing it into the net.

You can totally pass it into the net in 3 on 3 though. McDavid does it regularly. Have to let him touch the puck first though.

 

[boltsfan86]

McDavid wasnt willing to shoot the puck tonight. You can complain all you want about Mack shooting non stop, but someone has to take the bull by the horns and shoot. You aint passing it into the net.

Was mostly referring to the plays in OT, in which case you can't blame McDavid for not shooting because Mackinnon was puck hogging. The puck didn't even get to him in OT in the offensive zone

 

[bucks_oil]

I feel you. It's one game against a pretty tough team in Sweden. I agree that McDavid's impact should be maximized as best it can be so I think putting him with MacKinnon might not be as effective as it would be if they were separated. MacKinnon too selfish McDavid probably could afford to be a bit more selfish. Didn't really balance out like I would've assumed.

It certainly didn’t mesh like you’d hope it would… Oilers fans have seen this before. Some guys defer and give McD the puck too much (Eberle) other guys not enough (Hall)… he’s not the easiest to work with… he’s virtuoso.

As for Hyman: they DO work well, and it wouldn’t be a favoritism pick… Hyman is 2nd among all Canadians in EV goals in the last 18 months and 5th in plus minus (which is a decent proxy for EV goal share)…. Yeah Point, Hagel right up there too… but still scratching my head how he didn’t make it at all.

Bouchard also defies all logic… 2nd in points, 2nd in EV points, 2nd in +/-, 56% EV goal share without McDrai on the ice.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Was mostly referring to the plays in OT, in which case you can't blame McDavid for not shooting because Mackinnon was puck hogging

Mack was also driving to the net. McDavid was deferring all night, hence his 1 shot.

 

[Pancakes]

Why did Cooper play Sid so little especially in overtime . 17 mins for the game . Did he get injured again ?

As a Pens fan, the Pens aren't particularly great at 3v3 tbh. And 3v3 is a skating game.

Sid can still do special things in it (and he did there) but it's probably best to go with your fastest young guys for most of OT. Not a surprise Cooper leaned on McDavid and MacKinnon for most of OT, and it was imo the correct choice. Give Sid a few shifts where he can go to balls to the wall and maybe win it for you, but otherwise let your fresher younger legs carry you.

 

[Zirakzigil]

It certainly didn’t mesh like you’d hope it would… Oilers fans have seen this before. Some guys defer and give McD the puck too much (Eberle) other guys not enough (Hall)… he’s not the easiest to work with… he’s virtuoso.

As for Hyman: they DO work well, and it wouldn’t be a favoritism pick… Hyman is 2nd among all Canadians in EV goals in the last 18 months and 5th in plus minus (which is a decent proxy for EV goal share)…. Yeah Point, Hagel right up there too… but still scratching my head how he didn’t make it at all.

Bouchard also defies all logic… 2nd in points, 2nd in EV points, 2nd in +/-, 56% EV goal share without McDrai on the ice.

There was zero chance Bouchard was making this team. Hes a liability defensively and hes not ousting Makar on the top PP unit.

 

[1989]

He's still a big game player and even though he's older, with the right players on his line he's still very effective

He deserves to be there for sure. His work ethic and chemistry with Crosby is fantastic on the international stage, and personally I'm hard pressed to say there's a definite replacement for Marchand specifically, instead of who was left off the roster. Experience and winning pedigree play a big part, too.

 

[centipede2233]

It was a great entertaining game. But pretty dissapointed Canada needed OT

 

[GrouperTrooper]

You arent breaking apart Sid and Mack.

I would. Sid, Marchy and Point as the 3rd line would be lights out.

Move Stone up with Mcdavid, maybe with TK.
Let Mack run the 2nd line.
That’s quite the Gauntlet.

 

[syz]

As a Pens fan, the Pens aren't particularly great at 3v3 tbh. And 3v3 is a skating game.

Sid can still do special things in it (and he did there) but it's probably best to go with your fastest young guys for most of OT. Not a surprise Cooper leaned on McDavid and MacKinnon for most of OT, and it was imo the correct choice. Give Sid a few shifts where he can go to balls to the wall and maybe win it for you, but otherwise let your fresher younger legs carry you.

IMO Sid should be fine in 3 on 3 if he's got McDavid or MacKinnon (and then potentially Makar) out there with him. McDavid in particular will play the possession game in OT and that's something that Crosby excels at.

 

[Hank Plank]

People tend to forget Crosby is 37.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

McDavid wasnt willing to shoot the puck tonight. You can complain all you want about Mack shooting non stop, but someone has to take the bull by the horns and shoot. You aint passing it into the net.

He made some absolutely fantastic passes though…

I’m all for taking your shots. But that was overboard. You’ve got two of the best players in the world with you. Even if McD isn’t going to shoot, you better believe he’s going to create a better scoring chance for you than you’ll generate on your own. Agree McD could shoot more but he’s constantly creating offense. He’d was incredible in the first period tonight.

 

[1989]

It certainly didn’t mesh like you’d hope it would… Oilers fans have seen this before. Some guys defer and give McD the puck too much (Eberle) other guys not enough (Hall)… he’s not the easiest to work with… he’s virtuoso.

As for Hyman: they DO work well, and it wouldn’t be a favoritism pick… Hyman is 2nd among all Canadians in EV goals in the last 18 months and 5th in plus minus (which is a decent proxy for EV goal share)…. Yeah Point, Hagel right up there too… but still scratching my head how he didn’t make it at all.

Bouchard also defies all logic… 2nd in points, 2nd in EV points, 2nd in +/-, 56% EV goal share without McDrai on the ice.

Bouchard just isn't in the team mold that Hockey Canada likes to prioritize. Also, being left off a Team Canada roster is not exactly a slight - the competition is monstrously difficult.

Not going to lie, I would love it if Oilers fans stopped seeing every non-Oilers players' omissions as a slight. Canada's player share in the NHL is still by and large the highest quality and quantity.

 

[Tasty Biscuits]

2nd best, Philly wins if you like to fear for your life as a visiting fan.

Shockingly the game I was at this past Saturday was 100% tame by these standards. And that's while wearing a Crosby jersey with a bunch of other Pens fans. Maybe it's cause we were in the 100 section and both teams suck

 

[Alicat]

People tend to forget Crosby is 37.

And?

 

[Pancakes]

IMO Sid should be fine in 3 on 3 if he's got McDavid or MacKinnon out there with him. McDavid in particular will play the possession game in OT and that's something that Crosby excels at.

It could work. Or they could do what Cooper did which is let Mackinnon and McDavid run Team Sweden ragged and then put out Sid for the dagger.

And MacKinnon nearly won it himself a few times before that.

Although tbh I didn't love Mack and McDavid as a pairing though. MacKinnon had the best player in the world on his line and was like yeah actually I'm gonna keep trying to win this 1v3 . It almost worked to be fair and Mack is capable of winning a game that way but if I were a Team Canada fan I would have liked the puck on McDavids stick more than it was that 3v3.

 

[boltsfan86]

It certainly didn’t mesh like you’d hope it would… Oilers fans have seen this before. Some guys defer and give McD the puck too much (Eberle) other guys not enough (Hall)… he’s not the easiest to work with… he’s virtuoso.

As for Hyman: they DO work well, and it wouldn’t be a favoritism pick… Hyman is 2nd among all Canadians in EV goals in the last 18 months and 5th in plus minus (which is a decent proxy for EV goal share)…. Yeah Point, Hagel right up there too… but still scratching my head how he didn’t make it at all.

Bouchard also defies all logic… 2nd in points, 2nd in EV points, 2nd in +/-, 56% EV goal share without McDrai on the ice.

Bouchard should have made it, agreed. I don't get Sanheim on the roster at all. Especially after Pietrangelo went out it should 100% have been Bouchard.

I feel for Hyman and he's actually one of my favorite players not on the team I cheer for but I just don't think he's had a good enough season and at the end of the day that's probably what is taken into consideration rather than last year. 32 points in 52 games with McDavid is just not going to get in over Cirelli who has 10 more points despite playing with "only" the likes of Hagel and Geekie and will probably finish 3rd at worst in Selke voting this year. But I do love Zach Hyman

 

[Zirakzigil]

He made some absolutely fantastic passes though…

I’m all for taking your shots. But that was overboard. You’ve got two of the best players in the world with you. Even if McD isn’t going to shoot, you better believe he’s going to create a better scoring chance for you than you’ll generate on your own. Agree McD could shoot more but he’s constantly creating offense. He’d was incredible in the first period tonight.

I dunno. Mack was driving to the net hard and with speed. If one of those shots had gone in we wouldnt be complaining about Mack being selfish and would still be calling whatshisname a useless toronto scrub on the team roster.

 

[JoVel]

I don't know how big the anti Crosby crowd is in Canada these days, but Canadians are lucky to have had this player be the face of Canadian hockey for such a long time. That goes for both how he conducts himself on and off the ice.