Hey there hockey fans.
Fact is, there are a bunch of people who do not like the fact that the NHL season will be put on hold for the 2014 Winter Olympics. They think it stops the action right when it is the most exciting, breaks up hot streaks and puts the leagues players in danger both on the ice and in this 2014 Olympics, off it. They think these things, scream them actually and fact is, they are right.
As the controversies and fears surrounding these games continue to mount many players have told their families not to attend the games not to mention telling their fans to stay home. This is not the kind of hype the NHL was looking to build as a result of their pausing their season and yet, nobody has backed out. The games will go on as planned, and hockey will be played (all be it under intense security) and so, the competitive spirit within us asks the question that is meaningless compared to those regarding the possibility of terrorism.
Who will win and why?
My prediction: Team Canada wins the gold off of a slew of 6-4 victories.
For those who are not familiar with the Canadian Olympic team, it would be fair to say that their lineup is one centered around offence. As you glance over their roster only a few quick searches of the NHL leader-board confirm that generalization. As of Wednesday, February 5th, 9 of Team Canada's 13 starting forwards sit in the top 25 of the NHL's point scoring list and frankly, the 4 guys who are not included in that list are without a doubt ones whose talents are not measured fairly by any official statistic.
Fact is, even without Stephan Stamkos who has since pulled out of the Olympics after an MRI showed that his injury suffered back in November has not yet healed, Team Canada is the strongest offensive team in the tournament this year.
But as you scan the defensive and goal-tending aspects of this roster, the names are certainly not as impressive as say Finland or Russia. Sure PK Subban is a Norris Trophy winner but frankly, he won that Norris Trophy off of his offensive play and really cannot play the puck in his own zone. Additionally, while the Canada defense is one laden with heavy hitters such as Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith and then Subban again they have very few play makers back there. That could mean that when Doughty, Keith or Subban let a man past the blue line with his frontal lobe still intact this team would have to rely on its goaltending core to bail them out.
But these goaltenders surly cannot be compared to the Rask/Lethonen/Nemi trio that will surely be going up against Canada at some point in these Olympics. While they are all big men, just Carey Price has multiple all-star game appearances to fall back on while Mike Smith and Roberto Luango have recently made names for themselves as full time chokers almost always flopping in the biggest of games. I don’t know about you but I would think that an Olympic gold medal game would count as a big game and so therefore solicit a few errors from mighty Luango.
All in all, it seems fair to predict that no matter the defensive and goaltending deficiencies that Team Canada will have to overcome, the offence will reign supreme. Sidney Crosby and his goal scoring buddies will do just what they do back home only instead of getting feeds from Evgeni Malkin and Teemu Selane, these hall of famers will be one timing passes from Patrice Bergeron and Jeff Carter.
Poor them...
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