there are definitely some upset people on here...and plenty of haters as well....haters gotta hate I guess?
with all things being considered, I am still not that upset..YET. I feel this team will rebound and beat Finland for a couple of reasons.
First off, I think Finland actually matches up a bit better then Germany and Denmark have. Teams that have a little more NHL talent tend to play a tad bit more "open minded" or less full on death trap hockey. After watching both games, it is just apparent that those two teams are ugly teams to play against. They block everything and have very little transition game which doesn't lead to many opportunities. I am not ripping on either Germany or Denmark as I feel what they did is tremendous, but for whatever the reason, I feel more comfortable playing against a Finland squad then the others.
To put it in more perspective, when the Blackhawks played Nashville in the first round, I was completely and utterly scared. I felt Nashville is an offensively challenged team that is going to shut you down and make you make the mistakes necessary for them to score. The Hawks had one hell of a time getting by that team, and we all know just how much more talented the Blackhawks were to the Predators. But it shows you just how well team defense and a goalie making the saves that he should make can do for you.
Once I knew the Hawks were going to play Vancouver (who is a better overall team then the Preds), I felt much more at ease knowing that they wont be trapping us and are actually going to try and run and gun it as well. The Hawks havent won the series yet, but imo, it has been much easier to watch then the previous series. When playing against a team that has some actual offensive talent, you know they are going to try and make something happen, which in turn opens up the ice for your better players to make plays happen. That has not happened against these two defensive minded teams.
Look at the Swiss team at the 2010 Olympics. They almost shocked the world by beating Canada...and look how many people wrote off Canada after that performace? How could Canada with such a mighty team need to go to overtime to beat the Swiss? It is simply because of the way the Swiss played THEIR system, and didn't allow Canada to skate, use open ice, or have any transition game at all. Yes Hiller was awesome as well, but all Germany and Denmark needed was for their goalie to make the saves that he was supposed to make, nothing super human.,
The point of all of this is **** happens! It isnt always the best team that wins, and when you are playing a far less talented team, you know you are going to be playing against a tough defensive minded system that isnt going to allow you to play the game the way you want to. With Finland, there will be more open ice and more chances taken. Finland plays a very defensive first system as well, but the difference is in the individual talent that they do have, that will tend to try and create more offensive chances of their own...
I think the US can win this game, and move on and continue to improve with a few additions....if not, then Finland was the better team, and good luck to them. The US has accomplished so much this year that this will not diminish that one way or another. If we have to go to the relegation round, then so be it....hopefully like others have said, this will wake up many of these guys that declined for next year and actually answer the call. Either way, I am proud of what my country has accomplished this year, and I still feel we can battle our way back from the brink.
No excuses here, just writing what I feel...cant wait for tomorrow.