So the first full day of games in the round robin portion of the tournament at the Sochi games is in the books. I didn’t watch a second of it, so let’s pretend to care together.
Recent Posts
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Morning Links: 2/13/14
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Olympics Day 1 Wrap And Day 2 Preview
We’re off and running. Just a few thoughts about the two games today and then we’ll set up what’s to come tomorrow. Well, actually in just about a few hours but you get the idea.
-I think the reason Sweden is a lot of people’s favorites is because pretty much everyone on their roster would be called one of the smarter players on their NHL team. They’re all intelligent in both ends. Except for the little blip that let the Czechs back in it for a hot minute, the Swedes puck support was really outstanding. Even though they don’t all play together during the year, they seem to just pick up immediately. And this Erik Karlsson-OEL pairing is just too much fun to watch. I thought having to play centerfield for Karlsson would kind of limit Ekman-Larsson’s game, but there was no sign of that today. What a player. And of course, Karlsson is pretty much a video game.
-Oh sure the Czechs don’t need Ales Hemsky to play much when they have… a big handful of themselves, really. They’re a bigger mess than I thought.
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Pigs in Zen: A Hat-hat-happy Weekend
The end of week 19 of the AHL schedule featured back-to-back home games for the Rockford IceHogs. After a big win against Hamilton earlier in the week, the Hogs needed to pick up another four points against Iowa and Utica to continue their playoff push.
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Olympic Hockey Day 1 Thread
Sweden v. Czech Republic and Switzerland v. Latvia (if that does it for you). Let’s get this thing started. Discuss it all the goings on here.
And I’ll step out on a ledge after thinking about it for another day. Sweden takes the gold, Canada silver, Russia beats the US in OT for bronze. What the fuck.
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Morning Links 2.12.14
That was an epic: USAHOCKEY
Pros and Cons of larger ice: Chicago Tribune InfoGraphic
New Goals: Chicago Suntimes
If he isnt, I know someone who is: CBC
Who will be in goal for Canada? Sportsnet.Ca
Quick decison for USA ? ESPN
Darryl Katz did what Charles Wang couldn’t: NHL.Com
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Sochi Ball Pt. 2: Groups B And C
Let’s keep rolling along with our Olympic Preview.
Group B
Austria – You’re gonna have a lot of fun saying, “Unterluggaur” while Thomas Vanek is amazed he can play for a team worse than the Islanders.
Canada – As always with them, they’re absolutely loaded. PK Subban might not even play. That’s how richly talented they are. You can try and poke holes in them, but there really just aren’t any. Patrice Bergeron is a fourth-line wing on this squad, and he’s the best two-way player in the game.
Those hoping for a hilarious crash and burn will look in goal. Roberto Luongo has been pretty good even while the Canucks have completely collapsed around him, and his mental deficiencies we all used to laugh at really haven’t popped up in a while. Because they haven’t had a chance. He was pulled mid-series vs. both the Kings and Sharks the past two springs even though he actually played really well. But we know if Canada loses it’ll be his fault. And really, what do you have to do behind this defense? Even if he slips, Carey Price is hardly a drop off a cliff.
If Canada stumbles, it’ll be because they run up against a galactic goaltending performance, which is what happened in ’98 and ’06. It’ll be Rask or Lundqvist or Miller or maybe even Hiller standing on his dick and conjuring up the dark arts. Other than that, this team should sneeze up four to five goals per game.
Prediction: They’re going to wallop this group, which should see them get an easy quarterfinal draw, and then from there it’s just about not getting Rask-ed. Gold Medal Game I’m thinking.
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Sochi Ball
Just a day out now. Whatever your feelings about Olympic hockey and how it affects the NHL season and its teams, we’re on the precipice. I usually panic and complain about the stoppage and the toll it will take on the Hawks all the way until the tournament arrives, but then the Olympic hockey starts and I’m generally enthralled by it. It really can be the highest level, and the drama and randomness of a knockout tournament can’t be matched. So let’s take a look at what we’re in for during the next two weeks.
The first thing you’ll hear about is the size of the rink. It’s 15 feet wider. While the first conclusion you might draw from that is it makes for a faster and more open game, that generally is not the case. Perhaps with the level of talent on display in Sochi it might come true, but more likely it won’t.
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State Of The Union
Before we pivot for a couple weeks to the international game, it’s a good time to take a look back and see where the Hawks are at the Olympic break.
While there’s a lot of things we discuss from game to game and day to day, admittedly some of it is just to find anything to talk about when a team is as good as the Hawks are. So first things first, let’s get to some of the things that truly do matter for when the playoffs roll around. These aren’t really things like Bollig’s ice time, which shouldn’t matter in the spring (until another OT turnover) or Seabrook’s play (he was really only just ok in last year’s run despite his two OT winners, but Keith was outstanding to negate it) or even the power play (as the Hawks have proven, you don’t need one to win).
Let’s get to it: