Honest to God people, have you ever seen anything as ridiculously obsessive, as all the media and fan distress, over Team Canada’s line combinations ? Can everybody just please relax and take a pill, but no more than 2 pills of course, without consulting your personal physician. Isn’t 8-0 enough to convince everybody that any of us, along with the Team Canada coaching staff, could pull names out of a hat from their roster, and any unit that was assembled by random selection, even if they were out of position, would probably pile up the points against the overwhelmed ,in over their heads, Norwegians. There seemed to be an almost anxiety attack level of stress, in listening to the angst of the analysts, after a scoreless first period. You could feel the fear coming through the TV screen, as Turin trauma ( referring to the 2006 Winter Games ) was beginning to set in. Would the “horror “of Team Canada’s experience in Italy, be replayed in Vancouver ?
The truth is that the same thing could happen, in terms of not winning a medal, especially the gold, but it’s not likely going to be revealed in games against Norway, or Switzerland. The top three teams, obviously including Canada, Russia, and Sweden, are all capable of winning the gold. If Canada finished behind any of the other two, it would be considered a mild upset, but not a devastating one. There is more than enough top talent on those teams to knock off the Canadians, especially with some solid goalkeeping from either or both nations. A Team Canada loss to the United States would certainly be considered an upset, except for one factor, and that of course is Ryan Miller. The Sabre stopper has shown, this year especially, when he is healthy, that he is as good as anyone in the game today. Team U.S.A.’s fortunes ride primarily on his big shoulders, as is the case for his teammates in Buffalo.
Let’s be realistic, how many times have most of these players on Team Canada, ever played together,outside of Marleau, Thornton, and Heatley, that they can be expected to form a cohesive unit right away ? With the level of talent on the home team’s side, Mike Babcock can put any combination on the ice, and all of them would probably be as effective as any other, within a short period of time. But the rediculous expectations, that team chemistry is going to happen in the first period of the first game, is just plain insanity. The final score of 8-0 for the Canadians, is all the proof you need on that point. Hopefully there is no more media overdosing, on the critical nature of each and every assembled forward unit, on every shift, at least not until after the game with Switzerland. Maybe if we all keep our fingers crossed, the coveted calmness, will even extend into the elimination encounters.