Day 3 Clue

tesev itsnarm

Our Game

I don't know about the rest of you but I have never had a night quite like that one.

The Parise goal was absolutely crippling. I should have known though. A Crosby overtime winner was in the cards from puck drop and Sid delivered in a big way.

Our country's shining moment...

GO CANADA GO

Canadian Women Win Gold

How bout them Canadians?

The Canadian Women's Hockey Team came through in a big way tonight as they toppled the rival Americans on route to Canada's eighth gold medal. This team was under so much pressure to win coming into these Olympics and came through in a big way.

Interesting to see the reaction of the men's team as they looked on. The women have done their job, now it's up to the guys to get it done on home ice.

Say what you want about the women's game, this Canadian team was dominant from start to finish and deserved those gold medals they received this evening.

GO CANADA GO!

Canada to Face Slovakia in Semis

Shocking upset in the late game last night as the scrapy Slovakian team upset the defending champs from Sweden.

Canada will now face Slovakia on Friday night at 9:30 PM EST. In the other semi final the Finns will play the Americans.

Obviously, Slovakia will be no push over. They have scored wins over Russia and Sweden in their surprising tournament thus far.

Luongo Will Start

According to a report from Yahoo Sports, Roberto Luongo will get the nod tomorrow night against the Germans.

While losing to the Americans hurts, having Luongo take over and get a good warm up game against the Germans isn't the worst thing that could happen.

Gotta Be Luongo

Canada dominated this game tonight but just could not get a save when they needed it and that falls on Brodeur. He was overactive all night and seemed to be guessing far too often.

Roberto Luongo has to be the guy from here on out.

The loss against the USA gives Canada a difficult route to gold which includes a game on Tuesday against the Germans and if they can win that, a quarterfinal match up with the Russians.

Could just be me but it seems like Babcock has been over coaching the whole way. Seems to be so desperate to find the perfect linemate for Crosby that he's hurting the team's best player in the process. Leave Nash and Iginla up there and let them work it out.

Pronger should not see the ice the rest of the way. To the "Pronger Sucks" guy who was always on the live blogs bashing Pronger; guess you were right!

Oh and by the way, how in the world does Babcock not call a time out after that shift from the Crosby line? You have to rest them and go back to them with the goalie pulled. No brainer...

Back at it on Tuesday! GO CANADA GO!

Line Juggling Ahead of Game with USA

Mike Babcock is shuffling the deck in preparation for the game with Team USA.

Canada has struggled to find the right mix on the top line and tonight will start with Mike Richards on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Rick Nash. They have tried Bergeron, Iginla and Toews on that top line but have yet to find the right mix.

A good start would be to make sure Crosby is one the ice for each and every power play.

Canada will need to win in regulation to assure they take top spot in the group. The United States is currently holding a one point lead over the Canadians.

Here's hoping the stiff opposition helps the Canadian team elevate their level of play a little bit. They may have been able to get away with a soft approach against the Norwegians and Swiss but will need to get physical with the Americans.

There is a ton of skill on this Canadian roster but it's time to establish an identity against Team USA. Has the makings of the best game of the tournament thus far.

Puck drops at 7:40 eastern time...

GO CANADA GO!

Nail Biter Over Switzerland

The unbelievable talent in this Olympic hockey tournament is really starting to show through.

Sweden was pushed to the limit by Belarus today. The Slovaks upset the Russians last night and the Swiss gave Canada everything they could handle.

An unbelievable performance by Jonas Hiller left Canadian shooters scratching their heads all night long. Luckily, a shootout winner from Sidney Crosby allowed the nation to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

Because Canada needed overtime to beat the Swiss, they now trail the undefeated Americans by a single point heading into their Sunday showdown.

As well as Canada played at times last night, there's still room for improvement. There is a real lack of physical presence right now in that Canadian line up and it really showed last night against the Swiss.

Teams should be afraid to play the Canadians but last night the Swiss didn't back down in the slightest. Canada needs to start getting physical and it has to start against the Americans on Sunday.

All sorts of talent on this team but Babcock may want to consider shortening the bench right now. Rolling four lines has it's benefits but the top offensive guys need to have a chance to get into a groove.

Can't wait till Sunday...

GO CANADA GO!

Off and Running

I think every Canadian can admit that first 20 minutes had us guessing a little bit.

As uneasy as the first 20 was, the final 40 was equally comforting.

As expected, the Canadians walked all over the Norwegians on route to an 8-0 victory in the tournament opening game for the host team.

Thought Luongo looked strong when necessary and looks ready to go should Babcock call on him in the next couple games. Brodeur will start on Thursday against the Swiss.

Putting Iginla on the top line with Crosby and Iginla seems like common sense right now. I'm sure Babcock will stick with that trio on Thursday.

GO CANADA GO!

Lines at Practice- Luongo to Start

Team Canada finally hit the ice this evening for the first time as a team. First game is tomorrow night against Norway.

Here are the lines from practice...

Bergeron-Crosby-Nash
Staal-Getzlaf-Perry
Heatley-Thornton-Marleau
Towes-Richards-Iginla

Pronger-Boyle
Niedermayer-Weber
Seabrook-Keith

Correction from earlier. Roberto Luongo will start the tournament opener against Norway!

ONE MORE SLEEP!!

Getzlaf Playing Tonight

Good news for Team Canada tonight as Ryan Getzlaf is in the Anaheim line up against the Oilers. There was some concern he may not be able to play in the Olympics but it appears as though he will be good to go.

Jeff Carter in in Vancouver and ready to dress if Getzlaf can't. Other names that have surfaced as "watch list" players include Chris Mason and Mike Fisher.

There was a bit of a scare tonight in Pittsburgh after Sidney Crosby was hit by a shot. The puck hit Crosby in the shin and sent him hobbling off. He did return to the game though and will be fine for Tuesday night.

Two more sleeps!

Carter Headed to Vancouver

With the status of Ryan Getzlaf up in the air, word from TSN's Bob McKenzie is that Jeff Carter will be named as a replacement.

Getzlaf could still play but if he can't go it will be Jeff Carter that takes his place. After a slow start to the season, Carter has started to turn things around and could be a decent fit.

There are three players in Tampa Bay I would take before Carter but I'll trust Yzerman on this one.

Calm Before the Storm

I realize things have been pretty quiet around here the last little while.

Well that should all change once the Olympics get underway next Friday. Spent some time in Vancouver last week and that city really is buzzing with anticipation.

My hope is that Gold Rush will be the place where people come to discuss everything related to Olympic Hockey. We'll have game day previews, post game wrap ups and talk about anything related to Team Canada.

Puck drop is just over a week away!

Team Canada Two

Mike Brophy from Sportsnet has put together his selections for Team Canada II. Couple of head scratchers on Brophy's team, including Chris Osgood as one of his goaltenders. Not sure Ozzie is even cut out for the Wings line up at this point.

His defenceman include some obvious selection combined with a few odd picks like MA Bergeron and Jeff Schultz.

I actually like the looks of the group he has up front including guys like Ryan Smyth, Shane Doan and Mike Fisher.

Here's the link to Brophy's picks...

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=27900.html?cid=rssrsn

More Injury Trouble- Morrow Hurt

Team Canada is hoping that forward Patrice Bergeron will make a return sometime this week and should be good to go by the Olympics.

But now there's a new injury to worry about...

Stars forward, Brendan Morrow, suffered an upper body injury last night and his status at this point is unknown. The Stars don't expect Morrow to miss significant time but it's definitely something to keep an eye on.

The Olympics are now less than a month away...

Projecting Line Ups

Last night, before Wednesday Night Hockey, the guys at TSN took a shot at projecting the line up of a couple pre-tournament favourites in Sweden and Russia.

Here is what they had to say...

RUSSIA

Ovechkin-Fedorov-Semin
Kovalchuk-Datsyuk-Afinogenov
Zaripov-Malkin-Morozov
Kozlov-Zinoviev-Radulov

SWEDEN

Zetterberg-Backstrom-Holmstrom
Sedin-Sedin-Weinhandl
Eriksson-Forsberg-Alfredsson
Modin-Pahlsson-Hornqvist

Both line ups look damn tough.

Sweden and Russia have selected rosters that include 12 forwards and 8 defenceman. Team Canada went with 13 forwards and 7 defenceman. A team like Sweden could be in trouble if they lost a guy like Forsberg to injury with no forwards there to replace him.

What do you think?

The Defence Pairings

With the 23 man roster now selected, Mike Babcock and the rest of the coaching staff take the burden from Steve Yzerman. Stevie Y has picked the ingredients, now it's up to Babcock to come up with a recipe for gold.

In the next couple of days, we'll start to look at some of the various line combinations available to Babcock, beginning today with the defence pairings.

One of the three defence pairings comes ready made. The Keith/Seabrook tandem has been a force in Chicago and will look to carry that chemistry over to the Olympic games.

The top four is another story. Pronger and Niedermayer have a past together in Anaheim and could be an option for the Team Canada staff. In the end I think it would be best if those two played on separate pairings.

Here is how I would line them up...

Niedermayer-Weber
Pronger-Boyle
Keith-Seabrook

As the 7th guy, LA Kings star Drew Doughty can hopefully slide in anywhere into the top four, ideally on a pair with Chris Pronger. If Seabrook struggles early in the tournament I wouldn't be surprised to see Doughty move up the depth chart and become the 6th guy.

How would you set up the Canadian defence?

Pre Tournament Rankings

As if the Canadian Olympic team needed any more motivation, last night's World Junior disappointment should only further fuel Canada's desires to get back atop the medal podium.

But like the World Juniors, the Olympics will be no slam dunk. In fact, the Olympics will be even more difficult with as many as 7 countries having a legitimate chance at winning it all.

Like any tournament there will be favourites but amazingly, just about every team in the tournament has at least one game breaker that's capable of putting a team on their shoulders. That's what makes this tournament potentially one of the best of all time.

Here are my pre-tournament rankings...

1) CANADA- There are other teams that can match their talent but the drive to win on home ice makes Canada the favourites in my book.

2) RUSSIA- The Russians have unbelievable skill up front. Skill that will win them games single handedly. With Nabakov and Bryzgalov as a one-two punch in goal this Russian team is going to be hard to beat.

3) SWEDEN- Another team with all kinds of skill up front and money goaltening in Lundqvist. Not to mention they are the defending champs.

4) USA- They have a young roster but a very competitive one. With Parise and Kessel they have their game breakers and if Miller gets hot they could be a real dark horse.

5) FINLAND- Great goaltending in Kiprusoff and always seem to have a great "team" concept in international events. They lack the goal scoring that some other teams have but they will be no push over.

6) SLOVAKIA- With Halak playing as well as he has lately the Slovaks could really surprise some people. They have the most dominant defenceman in Chara and the NHL's leading goal scorer in Gaborik. Another team that could surprise some people.

7) CZECH REP.- All kinds of skill up front and the return of Jaromir Jagr to the spotlight. Hard to know what to expect from this team but with Vokun likely starting they have the weakest goaltender of the contending teams.

8) SWITZERLAND
9) GERMANY
10) LATVIA
11) BELARUS
12) NORWAY

How would you rank the teams with the tournament a little over a month away?

Bergeron Out 3 Weeks

TSN's Daren Dreger is reporting that Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron suffered a thumb injury against the Rangers and will miss up to 3 weeks.

That means he should be back in late January giving him time to play a few games before the Olympics get underway.

Doesn't sound like a replacement will be needed although there were other reports out there suggesting it could be up to 6 weeks.

Bergeron Hurt vs. Rangers

Team Canada member Patrice Bergeron was hurt in the Bruins game at MSG tonight. He was struck on the hand by a point shot. He did return briefly but eventually left and did not finish the game

Word is Bergeron will not travel with the team to Ottawa tomorrow and will be reevaluated back in Boston.

Still a ways to go till the games in Vancouver but this shows how easily the roster can change.

Injuries Could Happen

It seems almost ridiculous to assume that every player on this 23 man roster will stay healthy leading up to puck drop in mid February.

With the number of injuries this year, it's entirely possible one or more players on the final 23 man roster will suffer an injury leading up to the games.

Yzerman was asked about that situation and said that a few players will be called in the coming days and told that if there is an injury to someone on the current roster they would have to step in.

On defence, you would have to think Jay Bouwmeester or Mike Green would be the leading candidates to step in. Up front, names like Jeff Carter and Mike Fisher could fill the void.

I'm not sure if these names will become public at any point but it would be interesting to know who is on Team Canada's "In case of injury" list.

Who do you think could step in?