Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

[Josh]

Talk the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics here!

[Josh]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Team Canada wins their first game, 3-1 VS Norway.

[matchesmalone]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

I didn't get to watch the game, how'd they look? I saw parts of the early morning games. Slovenia looked surprisingly decent. USA looked very good and Slovakia looked very bad.

[Dean Ambrose]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

I heard Canada looked like a mess.

[matchesmalone]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Well considering they only beat Norway 3-1 they couldn't have been that good. But they didn't let Norway get a single shot in the 2nd period, so it couldn't have been that bad. Apparently Norway was playing full-out four men back.

[Victor]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Latvia was 8 seconds away from finishing regulation tied 0-0 with Switzerland. :(

[Alfie11]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Latvia was 8 seconds away from finishing regulation tied 0-0 with Switzerland. :(

And, ironically, Switerland is a team that always gives Canada a big headache. 2006 they eliminated Canada from medal contention. 2010 they took Canada to an extra-round shootout.

Haven't really been watching all the games so I can't provide insight. Sweden looked decent, but might be in trouble. No Henrik Sedin. No Zetterberg now. But hey, this defenseman called Erik Karlsson is playing pretty well. You guys gotta check him out.

On that note, I saw some glimpses of Team Canada. I'm not hating on Doughty, Pietrangelo or Keith. But the way people point out Karlsson or Subban's errors, I was expecting those three to be a lot more error-free.

[Dean Ambrose]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

I lol'd at people on HF shitting all over Subban when Subban was coming all the way from his side to make up for his partners (Doughty and Vlasic) bad pinches at two separate points in the game.

It's pretty much been proven off that alone that some players have a shorter leash than others, and Subban/Karlsson fall into that category, but fans of both those players' fan bases already know that.

[Victor]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Latvia was 8 seconds away from finishing regulation tied 0-0 with Switzerland. :(

2006 they eliminated Canada from medal contention.

Russia eliminated Canada from medal contention. Switzerland might have set up that match-up because they randomly beat good teams but drew with Italy and Germany.

Also, Slovenia just beat Slovakia. Obviously we all pretend they're the same place anyway.

[matchesmalone]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

I lol'd at people on HF shitting all over Subban when Subban was coming all the way from his side to make up for his partners (Doughty and Vlasic) bad pinches at two separate points in the game.

It's pretty much been proven off that alone that some players have a shorter leash than others, and Subban/Karlsson fall into that category, but fans of both those players' fan bases already know that.

I thought Subban played a good game the one he got into. I think it's complete lunacy of the coaching staff to keep Vlasic in over him. Even Bouwmeester only looked so-so last game. I mean, I understand they want three lefts and three rights, and obviously he's not getting into one of the right side spots over Weber, Doughty or Pietrangelo, but why the hell not make him the 7th D. I guess the logic is, you have those three on the right side eating up big minutes and then four on the left spreading the minutes out. Still, Subban is so vastly superior to any of Vlasic, Hamhuis or even Bouwmeester, you'd think they could work something out.

[Josh]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Agreed that Subban should be playing. He brings an energy that'll be needed against the Americans.

[Dean Ambrose]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Babcock is handling the team terrible imo. Way too overcoached. These are some of the best players in the world, just let them play. Don't overcomplicate it, cut this 30 second shift stuff, just let them go.

And Subban needs to play, obviously. In his only game played, he showed less risk than Doughty and Vlasic when they made bad pinches and he bailed them out, but people will overlook that because it's Subban.

[Josh]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

So Sweden VS Slovenia at 3AM. I think Sweden takes it. Then it's Finland VS Russia at 7:30, which is awesome because that means one of those two teams gets eliminated. It's Russia's game to lose, but I won't be all that surprised if Finland wins it. At noon Canada plays Latvia, a pretty good matchup for Team Canada who should skate a decisive victory. At the same time, the US takes on the Czechs. That's another upset that could happen. If Finland upsets Russia, their semi-final VS Sweden would be awesome to watch.

[Josh]

Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Sweden and Russia won their game this morning, and so will face each other in the semi-final round. Now it's Canada - Latvia and US - Czech Republic at noon to determine the other semi-final.

[Alfie11]

Re: Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics

Sweden and Russia won their game this morning, and so will face each other in the semi-final round. Now it's Canada - Latvia and US - Czech Republic at noon to determine the other semi-final.

Finland actually beat Russia.

People are calling it an upset, but I don't think it really is. Russia showed they had a lot of problems in the tournament, while Finland looked pretty good. On paper, sure, it's a pretty big upset. But in the actual games? I was expecting Finland to take it.