WC: USA vs Canada Semifinals Showdown
- Thread starter Khall9
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Peiskos
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2018
- 3,767
- 3,843
Canada isn't the same team that started 0-3 that's for sure, I think Canada won't want to lose to the US twice so I'd expect a different result, but at the end of the day either team isn't much better than the other on paper. I'll say Canada wins, but wouldn't be surprised with a loss either, its a miracle Canada even made it this far this year lmao.
Czechboy
Náš f*cken barák!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 30,392
- 28,201
I've said from Day one that Canada has the best roster at this tournament. I keep reading how awful the roster is but I'm positive that is fans looking and not seeing Connor McDavid on it. Look around at the rosters in the semi's.
Germans' don't have Drai and Grubauer.. that is much harder for them.
Finn's don't have anyone from their best on best team as far as I can tell.. maybe Maata?
US doesn't have one best on best player to my knowledge????
Canada doesn't either but whenver 'who is best' comes up it is followed by Canadian HF posters saying they have the best depth in the world (very true) and they can ice 2 teams (also very true) so it's strange to me when we are a tournament with zero depth for EVERYONE that the Canadian HF posters are complaining about not having a good enough roster.lol
I didn't pick Canada because of intangibles like 'heart' (although, they have that too.lol) but becuase they have the strongest roster here. I think the posters need to stop looking at the 2022 best on best thread and comparing this Canada to THAT Canada. THink they'd be better off looking THIS Canada and their opponents rosters HERE.
Eg. only 2 NHL goalies left. Canada has the best one in Kuemper (who was outstanding yesterday. He even made an extraoridanry stop on the goal against).
How many former and current first rounders are on this Canadian team? Comtois, Perfetti, Schneider, Beaudin, Power and Foudy come to mind immediately. Name me the country at THIS tournament with more?
Also, it's now 3 of the top 6 scorers in this tourney. No other nation boasts that kind of offence HERE.
Cehlarik is done. So is Kirk. The highest .ppg is Mangiapane (who's been outstanding) but he's played 3 less games. Hoffamn and Jenson are also gone from tourney.
Of the remaining players in the tourney... Canada his 3 of the top 4 scorers at THIS tournament. They're not weak, They are not undermanned. I don't see any KHL guys in the top 10 here. I don't see any NHL Czechs up here either. I see zero Finns, zero Germans and 2 Americans (the final 4 countries).
NHL goalie with the top scorers is what this team is. Not an underdog, not a Cinderella story. A really good team that had a slow start and is now rolling.
Germans' don't have Drai and Grubauer.. that is much harder for them.
Finn's don't have anyone from their best on best team as far as I can tell.. maybe Maata?
US doesn't have one best on best player to my knowledge????
Canada doesn't either but whenver 'who is best' comes up it is followed by Canadian HF posters saying they have the best depth in the world (very true) and they can ice 2 teams (also very true) so it's strange to me when we are a tournament with zero depth for EVERYONE that the Canadian HF posters are complaining about not having a good enough roster.lol
I didn't pick Canada because of intangibles like 'heart' (although, they have that too.lol) but becuase they have the strongest roster here. I think the posters need to stop looking at the 2022 best on best thread and comparing this Canada to THAT Canada. THink they'd be better off looking THIS Canada and their opponents rosters HERE.
Eg. only 2 NHL goalies left. Canada has the best one in Kuemper (who was outstanding yesterday. He even made an extraoridanry stop on the goal against).
How many former and current first rounders are on this Canadian team? Comtois, Perfetti, Schneider, Beaudin, Power and Foudy come to mind immediately. Name me the country at THIS tournament with more?
Also, it's now 3 of the top 6 scorers in this tourney. No other nation boasts that kind of offence HERE.
Cehlarik is done. So is Kirk. The highest .ppg is Mangiapane (who's been outstanding) but he's played 3 less games. Hoffamn and Jenson are also gone from tourney.
Of the remaining players in the tourney... Canada his 3 of the top 4 scorers at THIS tournament. They're not weak, They are not undermanned. I don't see any KHL guys in the top 10 here. I don't see any NHL Czechs up here either. I see zero Finns, zero Germans and 2 Americans (the final 4 countries).
NHL goalie with the top scorers is what this team is. Not an underdog, not a Cinderella story. A really good team that had a slow start and is now rolling.
SanDogBrewin
Righteous bucks!
jj cale
Registered User
The U.S team has played well, it will be a grind tomorrow. Having said that I am quite sure Canada will give them a much better test then they received in their first game.
jj cale
Registered User
You've put in a lot of hard work this tournament regarding this thesis, I'm starting to become a believer.
Let's hope this proves true tomorrow.
Eye of Ra
Grandmaster General of the International boards
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Agreed. Always tough to be the same team twice in the same tournament. I expect this to be a much sterner test. Could go either way.
Lt Dan
F*** your ice cream!
ORRFForever
Registered User
- Oct 29, 2018
- 20,846
- 11,997
Just enjoy the game and don't worry about who wins. As for me, I didn't care before and I still don't care.
I know, I know... Why am I commenting if I don't care?
Answer : Because everything else has been discussed to death.
I know, I know... Why am I commenting if I don't care?
Answer : Because everything else has been discussed to death.
jj cale
Registered User
I think it's basically 50-50 for this game, what are you looking at as the keys for the U.S?
Lt Dan
F*** your ice cream!
Gold Standard
Registered User
- Sep 7, 2018
- 2,385
- 2,285
Artorius Horus T
sincerety
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
Need the top forwards to produce. Could use some of the secondary lights to produce. Continue the strong defensive play and goaltending. This team has really surprised me though. The identity is the complete opposite of what I thought it would be.
NyQuil
Big F$&*in Q
I still don't buy it.
We have one line (that came together later on in the tournament when Mangiapane showed up) that provides most of the offence for the team.
Former and current first rounders? I'll take European professionals over rookie NHLers every time.
There are exceptions out there (re: Eric Lindros on the 1991 Canada Cup pre-NHL) but by and large, a mature professional trumps a young kid with potential 9 times out of 10, I don't care where and when they've been drafted.
As I've said multiple times, without Mangiapane this team would have taken the flight home not that long ago outside of the medal round.
If the line between qualification and an early ticket home is as thin as the addition of a single player, you can't convince me that this team is some kind of powerhouse.
Rolling?
Against the traditional medal favorites (e.g. Finland, Russia), we have a shootout loss and an overtime win to go along with a pretty convincing loss to the US earlier in the tournament.
They've made it this far by the skin of their teeth.
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This will be quite entertaining in any case. Canada has not been that good and the USA has been very impressive after their first game. But somehow I just suspect that Canada will find a way to victory. They have a knack for it. But I totally will root for the USA, they are so due a gold in this tournament...
NyQuil
Big F$&*in Q
Czechboy
Náš f*cken barák!
- Apr 15, 2018
- 30,392
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I'm not selling anything, just showing the stats and scoring leaders. That isn't a filter I used to eliminate players... Canada has 3 of the top 4 scorers left in the tournament. No country left has players in that Top 10 except for Garland (who has been awesome!).
Maybe, now name me who in the final 4 has 2 scoring lines? Finland? Germany? US? Comtois would be 5th on the US team in scoring.
Czechs had a lot of Euro professionals.. already home. So did Russia... how did that work out? Not all your first rounders are 18 years old btw.
Lukas Reichel is a first rounder who is having a great tournament. So are Power and Comtois.
Is he injured? Is he not playing tomorrow and Sunday? I don't get it. You have him. That's good.
Usually when a team has 3 of the top 4 scorers, they are not weak. Can you name a tourney with 3 of the top 4 scorers that didn't win a game or didn't make quarters? Pretty unheard of isn't it?
Here's the stats again and I've crossed out the guys that are no longer playing. Who has more scorers than Canada HERE in Latvia?
If it were me, I'd like my chances. Especially with an NHL goalie in my net since 2 of the nations don't have theirs (that isn't Rask and Grubaeur in the other match).
NyQuil
Big F$&*in Q
We've had much better teams with much better NHL representation that have been eliminated by teams without significant NHL players.
Your approach of adding up NHLers to assess a team's strength doesn't work for me. I've seen too many World Championships to put that much stock into it.
Not to mention, simply looking at the top of the scoring table. Look at the top scorers in the regular season of the NHL and where they are in the playoffs now.
I like our chances a lot better than I did a week ago - but a lot of that is due to the instant chemistry of that top line.
The team as a whole has hardly been dominant and it shows in virtually every result of every game they've played at this tournament.
I'm not selling anything - just looking at the actual scores and outcomes of their games which is ultimately all that matters - not scoring titles or assist leaders, not save percentages or number of games played in the NHL.
Canada has lost against very poor opposition and even when they managed to turn things around enough to barely qualify into the qualification round, it's a marginal win in OT.
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Art.Vandelay
@kash2112
MeHateHe
Registered User
- Dec 24, 2006
- 2,849
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I don't know that the roster is awful, but it is comparatively weak, and the word I used is "unheralded." Canada normally sends a handful of players who wouldn't be out of place on a best-on-best Olympic squad, plus a bunch of second- and third-line NHLers. That really isn't the case this year. Is there any player who has a snowball's chance in hell of being on the Olympic team next year? Maybe Henrique or Mangiapane if they get lit on fire in October?
And of course, everyone's roster is weak this year. But when Canada is successful at these tournaments it's when they overcome a distinct lack of preparation and unity because of skill. So when they send a team that is primarily younger players (I had to Google Mark Bunting) they are not filling us all with optimism. An undrafted 18-year-old is one of our best defenders: this is pretty unheard of for Canada.
So is this team the best roster in the tournament? Arguable, but I think that Russia had more game-breakers and, at least on paper, better goaltending. I said when they announced the roster that this team Canada should challenge for a medal, and after their 0-3 start, I was mostly praying that they made the medal round. I've said since, and I will repeat, that they deserve a lot of credit for overcoming a terrible start (worst ever?) to put themselves in a position to win. I don't think a roster full of professionals is ever "awful" but it was certainly not as good as we could have sent. They should feel confident to beat this US team, but I put no expectations in their path at this point.
