****Official Canada vs United States Gold Medal Hockey thread ****
 

I know there's a Winter Olympics thread, but this is the premiere event of the Olympics, and it's the matchup VANOC hoped they'd get when they spent how many billions of dollars to get the Games. NBC wanted this, and there's a chance that the American viewing audience of this game surpasses the population of Canada. It deserves it's own chuffing thread for ****s sake!:cuss:

To analyze the game some, Ryan Miller could very well be his generation's Mike Richter... the dude plays lights out in big games. Meanwhile, Canada's throwing Roberto Luongo in net who seems more likely to follow Russia's Evgeni Nabokov and Finland's Miikka Kiprusoff as high-profile tenders who have completely shit the bed when it mattered most. Personally, Luongo has been average at best, though better than Fatso Brodeur, which isn't saying much. It boggles my mind that Marc-Andre Fleury, Canada's most prolific big-game goalie of the past 2 years, did not see one second of ice time, as he's probably the best-suited to take on the Americans.

For the US team... there was a lot of shit heaped at the feet of GM Brian Burke after he picked his team... picking Komisarek, Drury, Langenbrunner among others led to his being raked across the coals by many in the hockey world. Injuries prevented Komisarek from making the trip to Vancouver and that was probably a blessing as he likely would've lost America a game or two on his own.

We can debate forward matchups in perpetuity... Canada has a more skilled group, but you can't undersell how well the US forwards have played as a group.

Regardless this should be one for the ages, and hopefully it does a lot for the popularity of hockey in the United States. Though I'm still gonna say 4-3 Canada.

Good luck ladies and gents!

Burke is the best GM in hockey, but I can't see the Americans pulling this one out. Not if Canada comes with the same effort as they have for the last week.

But then again, it's a single hockey game. I wouldn't be surprised by any result with the significant variation and luck involved.

And this game won't do anything for the popularity of hockey in the United States. Just as the one in 2002 didn't.

Isn't Burke the Leafs GM?

**** the ****ing usa. Go Canada

Currently.

:spock:

This. Following it in the olympics is pretty cool, but I don't have an NHL team in my area and don't look to pick one up after this is over unless Seattle/KC gets a team.

The NHL isn't as good as this. Not until it gets in the playoffs, anyway.

You goddamned terrorist

The quality of play in 2002 wasn't nearly as good in the NHL; those were the dark days of the dead puck era; the Olympics in 02 were the best hockey seen since the early nineties.

That may be true, but it doesn't ultimately matter. Some Americans will watch this out of American pride, but they won't watch it for the love of the sport. I live here...people don't care, and won't start caring as a result of an Olympic hockey game (and honestly, I'm not going to watch hockey until the playoffs start either). It's very unrealistic to believe otherwise.

Really, if I was the NHL, I'd try to move as many of these failing teams back to Canada as possible, but Bettman will never do that.

**** YOU, EH!

I was also baiting you, Phury, with the Burke comment. I thought you would respond to that.

Call me when Football or Baseball is in the Olympics. Otherwise. :yawn: