Olympics Thread

[lgna69xxx]

What a great game earlier today in Ice Hockey between the USA and RUSSIA. Good to see my boys from the Leafs (Phil Kessel and JVR) continue to lead the team in scoring with another assist each and Kessel was all over the ice, leading the team in 7 shots. Jonathan Quick was great in goal and Russia also played very good. Great game to watch. I hate the shootout in the Olympics but it was very entertaining this time as after the first three shooters for each team, you can use them again if you want and TJ Oshie was used 5 or 6 times.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Iggy,

This game shows that the USA selection committee was more interested in winning hockey games than fielding an All-Star team, like Canada and Russia. The only reason why TJ Oshie was picked for the team is he shoots 70% in shoot outs. When I read the scouting reports on all the teams in this hockey tournament, Team USA was the ONLY team that was listed as having grit, pride and work ethic as a team strength. The other teams were too busy picking pretty boy scorers to care about such things as intangibles, work ethic, chemistry, grit and pride.

 

[Special K]

That was a very entertaining game, for sure!! My thoughts are that Team USA was lucky to escape with the SO win. I watched every minute of the game and to me it appeared that the Russians controlled most of the play and was on the US at every turn. Nevermind the overturned Russian goal due to the net being off the mooring, that was like the "tuck rule" in football. Lol. WOW, was that f'n lucky. If the US wants to win this thing they better step it up in the medal round!!

Also was amazed at the talent Russia has out there on your powerplay. Datsyuk, Kovalchuck, Ovechkin, Malkin, etc. It's insane. Also Datsyuk is a complete highlight reel every time he touches the puck. By far the best on the planet right now, IMO.

 

[simonpaul]

So far the Canadian Olympic Team is a big deception .May be they can do better next week but they have all kind of problems with the ski team, every even they are going from bad to worst.

 

[EagerBeaver]

USA-Russia shootout in 2 minutes:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/watch-entire-usa-russia-shootout-2-minutes

 

[EagerBeaver]

Medal Race Still Tight

Russia 16
USA 16
Canada 14
Netherlands 14
Norway 14

http://espn.go.com/olympics/winter/2014/medals

 

[EagerBeaver]

Phil Kessel is the unquestioned MVP of the USA hockey game through 3 games. 4 goals and 3 assists = 7 points in 3 games

 

[lgna69xxx]

EB,

Kessel is becoming a superstar in the NHL and his Olympic performance will only enhance that status. The HBO 24/7 Series showed he is a great teammate and beloved in the locker room. He has matured into a great player on both sides of the ice and is a silent leader. As a Leafs fan i cannot say "Thank You Boston" enuf! :thumb:

 

[EagerBeaver]

By the ways, Special K, if the Russian Hockey team is so great why has Slovakia taken them into OT? USA beat Slovakia 7-1. If you ask me Russia looks a little dysfunctional, they struggled with both Slovenia and Slovakia, and lost to the USA, all on home ice. They supposedly have all these great guys on the power play but the results do not match the supposed greatness. This teaches that you need role players, guys like TJ Oshie, and I am not seeing that they have any intangibles.

Also they only have 5 goals in 3 games- on home ice. Russia is actually lucky that USA put that beating on Slovakia as total goals may be decisive in whether they advance or not.

In 1980 the USSR had supposedly the best team in the world but they got beat by a team of American college kids who were better conditioned while the USSR was sucking wind in the 3rd period allowing uncontested slapshots on goal.

 

[EagerBeaver]

EB, Kessel is becoming a superstar in the NHL

I did not realize it but Kessel is 2nd to Ovechkin in the NHL in goals with 31, and 4th in points with 65. He is clearly a 1st team NHL All Star player.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Russia needed a shootout to beat Slovakia 1-0.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Hockey playoff round:

First round Tuesday, quarterfinals Wednesday, semifinals Friday.

• No. 1 Sweden plays winner of
No. 8 Slovenia vs. No. 9 Austria

• No. 4 Finland plays winner of
No. 5 Russia vs. No. 12 Norway

• No. 3 Canada plays winner of
No. 6 Switzerland vs. No. 11 Latvia

• No. 2 United States plays winner of
No. 7 Czech Rep. vs. No. 10 Slovakia

 

[Doc Holliday]

I did not realize it but Kessel is 2nd to Ovechkin in the NHL in goals with 31, and 4th in points with 65. He is clearly a 1st team NHL All Star player.

Kessel has also been among the top 10 both in goals scored & total points over the past couple of NHL seasons.

On L'Antichambre today (it's the most popular sports talk show in Quebec), they referred to him as being an elite scorer in the world of hockey. They even added that the US might not even had made it to the medal round if not for Kessel's exploits.

And that's the problem with the US & Russian hockey teams: the scoring only comes from the top 2 lines. The 3rd & 4th lines are composed mostly of average to marginal players (on the world stage), and it was even mentionned that a player such as Max Pacioretty is either on the 4th line or in the stands watching the game.

The panel consisting of Gaston Therrien, Francois Gagnon & Guy Carbonneau later joked about the likes of George Parros & Douglas Murray's likely incompetence if they'd be playing on a larger ice surface all season long. They all had a good chuckle at their expense. For those unfamiliar to those players, they are considered extremely slow on NHL ice rinks. Just imagined how they'd look on a larger ice surface currently being used at the Olympics.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Russia needed a shootout to beat Slovakia 1-0.

Russia is strong at the top 2 forwards lines & between the pipes. The defence is very ordinary. P.K. Subban, who can't even crack Canada's lineup, would be the top defenceman on the Russian team if his name was Subbanov. Canada's defense consists possibly of the best defensemen in the history of the game. Even the A/C panel mentionned that Mtl's top defenceman P.K. Subban is not in the same league as the likes of Drew Doughty, Shea Webber & Duncan Keith. These players are also still very young & it made them wonder if Subban would ever be a regular on an Olympic or World Cup team in the future.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I'm currently watching 'Le Premier Trio' on TVA Sports.

One panelist just said that for him, Phil Kessel has been the best player of the tournament. He indicated that he has shut up a lot of his doubters and that he's indeed an elite player....a scoring machine.

To my surprise, he also picks Erik Karlsson over Drew Doughty as the tournament's top defenceman, mostly for his great speed. He did add that his choice was extremely close.

And finally, a poll among viewers (consisting mostly of habs fans) picked Max Pacioretty as the hab player who would have made more impact had he been playing more. The other choices were Petr Budaj & P.K. Subban.

By the way, it was expected that P.K. Subban may not see anymore playing time at the Olympics. Many (including the Mtl media) believed that Carey Price had seen his last game against Austria, but to everyone's surprise Babcock came back with Price for the Finland game, indicating that it's possibly Price's job to lose. However, Babcock indicated after today's game that there would be a few lineup changes in their upcoming game against the winner of Switzerland or Austria in the medal round.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Is there a more exciting Olympic event than the snowcross??

The women's snowboard semifinal & final were incredibly exciting today!!!

Congratulations to Dominique Maltais of Canada for her Silver medal win today!! And what a win it was!!! :thumb:

 

[Doc Holliday]

I like the sport of curling. But at these Olympics, i especially like women's curling. Even though i find Great Britain's Eve Muirhead to be the hottest curler, here's a clip of why i love women's curling so much:

Why i like women's curling

 

[EagerBeaver]

Curling is not really a sport, it is a game, similar to shuffleboard, horseshoes, and darts. If curling is an Olympic sport the other 3 should be as well.

 

[simonpaul]

Soon we will a snow ball competition as an event at the olympic.

 

[lgna69xxx]

Dont forget Snow Sculpting.

It is amazing what can be done with that white crap.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=snow...NArOgyQGQkoGwCQ&ved=0CCgQsAQ&biw=1173&bih=495

Soon we will a snow ball competition as an event at the olympic.