I'm not surprised with the USA being out so early because they didn't have that great of a team. Canada had an ok team, though. They should have at least made the semi finals and probably moved onto the finals. Too many players didn't show up this tournament and the goaltending sucked.
It's stupid to Canadian's, yes. But around the world, especially in European countries and Russia, this tournament is a pretty big deal. There's no real harm in the tournament - some players get experience on bigger ice, get a chance to represent their country in something, and I'm sure they have fun. The only harm is bruising Canadian fans' ego.
Personally, I find all international hockey is becoming boring. Including the 2014 Olympics...that literally put me to sleep. It's hyped up to be this event where, because of the talent level and big ice, it's the most exciting hockey in the world. Speed and skill are more showcased. I completely disagree with that. It came down to who had better coaching and a better system. Canada played great hockey, pretty much perfect hockey. The defense was so good that any goalie would have won Canada gold, and done as good (if not better) than Price. There's nothing wrong with watching perfect defense and hockey, but it's not always the most exciting.
The only highlight of the Olympics for me was watching Karlsson dominate the tournament.
Oh these Olympics were god awful no doubt. I didn't watch much but when most games, especially in the knockout rounds, were at best 3-goal games... you've got a problem.
No doubt there's a bigger deal in Europe, perhaps the NHL should just not send players at all to the worlds?
Hm... I really, really enjoyed the Olympic hockey this year. Almost every important game was a nail-biter. Low scoring, sure, but it led to some legendary performances by some goalies and defensemen, most notably Price, Rask, Doughty, Weber and Karlsson. And it was always interesting to see how coaches and players who spend all of their time in the NHL would adapt to the wide ice, especially against the more European teams who are so well-versed in the wide ice. Some games it was like watching a chess match with those geniuses behind Canada's bench.
I think, maybe, a big part of it was because of the crazy puck drop times. I realize it's in Russia and they need to accommodate the fans over there, and I obviously wouldn't want them to change anything because it wouldn't be fair, but it's hard to get pumped for a game that starts at 7AM. I thought the Canada - USA game was pretty good and exciting, it was almost like that was the real Gold medal game. I found the Sweden vs Canada game to be a snoozer.
Seriously, I hope the next Olympics aren't so bad with the times. I realize timezones and all that shit, but games at 3am - 7am? No thank you. It's hard to get into a game, if you're even up to watch it, at those times.
I think, maybe, a big part of it was because of the crazy puck drop times. I realize it's in Russia and they need to accommodate the fans over there, and I obviously wouldn't want them to change anything because it wouldn't be fair, but it's hard to get pumped for a game that starts at 7AM. I thought the Canada - USA game was pretty good and exciting, it was almost like that was the real Gold medal game. I found the Sweden vs Canada game to be a snoozer.
They were at a pretty decent time here (7 am is noon in the UK so you get the idea), but it didn't really help.
Granted, I've really fallen out with hockey due to the time zones so I'm probably not the best judge. I did expect more from the little quality hockey (NHL and Olympics) I had access too.
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