The nine seconds heard around the world. Not only were those nine seconds almost responsible for the Bell Centre crumbling due to the earth-shattering cheers – they’re also engraved in hockey history.
The loudest cheers I have ever personally taken in during a hockey game came Saturday night when Team Canada and Team USA went toe to toe in the most anticipated “best on best” matchup in recent memory. It truly was nine years in the making – which is poetic given the three fights in nine seconds to start the game – and, incredibly, the game over-delivered. Couple all that with it being a Saturday night in Montreal with a snowstorm percolating; it truly was a magical, picture-perfect evening in the middle of February for a big-stakes hockey game.
Despite a hot start for the Canadians, they were on the losing end of things when the dust settled. Connor McDavid’s singlehanded effort to bust through the neutral zone, blow past the American defense with speed and go backhand-shelf on Connor Hellebuyck had the Montreal faithful erupt to open the match. But after a Jake Guentzel dribbler beat goaltender Jordan Binnington along the ice, the US slowly got their grips on the game and never looked back en route to a 3-1 (empty-net goal included) victory to punch their ticket to the final.
So what did the Americans do so well throughout the game to stifle the Canadian offense?
“Limited mistakes all game. Managed pucks to limit (Canadian) opportunities,” said one NHL executive in discussion with Daily Faceoff. “Physical on top of players of Canada, taking away their speed.”
The Americans had arguably the best defense on paper entering the tournament. Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes pulling out of the tournament certainly made that reputation of the American defense take a hit, but their stout overall defensive game did box Canada out of the dangerous areas for much of the game and slow things down through the neutral zone.
The physicality and relentless forecheck from the Americans has been on display all tournament long. Forcing defensemen to make tough plays, rush them into bad decisions, brace for hard hits in the corners, etc. It was no different versus Canada on Saturday, as the Americans made life tough on a depleted Canadian back end.
Defensemen Josh Morrissey and Colton Parayko (both of whom have had their share of struggles throughout the first three games) were targeted a lot and oftentimes were pinned in their own end. Morrissey was pushed around, while Parayko’s lack of foot speed was exploited. Cale Makar returned to the lineup for Canada’s win over Finland Monday and will be playing versus the Americans on Thursday after missing Saturday, which will certainly give Canada a boost. But while the puck will be moved up the ice better with Makar in the lineup, the relentless and physical American forecheck will remain present.
From a territorial perspective, things were almost dead even, per Natural Stat Trick, but Canada did significantly win the expected goals battle – especially in the first and second period. It is certainly the elephant in the room, but the performance discrepancy between Binnington and Hellebuyck in their goaltending has to be pointed out. It may be low hanging fruit, but Canada will need to see a better outing from Binnington on Thursday if they hope to have a different result.
“Goaltending (has to be] the biggest difference for Canada this Thursday compared to Saturday,” another executive told Daily Faceoff. “Canada should have been up 1-0 going to the third. If you switch goalies, Canada wins that game.”
It was the biggest glaring weakness entering the tournament for Canada, but Binnington has certainly been a wild card through this point. In a tight, low scoring game against the US, Binnington allowed two goals that should’ve been stopped. The first one was outright a bad one; while the second off the stick of Dylan Larkin coming in on a 2 on 1 wasn’t overtly terrible, it’s still a save in a 1-on-1 situation with the shooter that got past Binnington in the middle of the net. Yes, Canada’s offense only mustered up one goal, but having two (at minimum) stoppable goals go in is deflating for a bench.
Canada didn’t play a bad game by any stretch. As the analytics would tell you, per Natural Stat Trick, they were the better team for stretches of the game Saturday night. Hellebuyck was near perfect; while Binnington made some big stops, the two that got by him are ones that can’t happen in a tight game like that.
And there is certainly some room for improvement for Canada beyond the goaltending.
“Play a better team game (on Thursday compared to Saturday),” a third executive told Daily Faceoff. “Too many individuals vs USA on Saturday. Move the puck, give and goes, stay patient.”
The McDavid line (despite McDavid himself scoring) did not impress during Saturday night’s matchup versus the Americans. Mitch Marner and Sam Reinhart were hardly noticeable 5-on-5; it ultimately led to line juggling from head coach Jon Cooper going into Monday. Brayden Point and Mark Stone now flank McDavid and it has made for a more effective even strength line. As Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Yaremchuk said several times, he expected Marner to not finish on McDavid’s wing in this tournament, with the latter historically needing a straight line forward to be at his best; Stone now checks that box.
A better team game and more efficient play from the top of the offensive lineup are things Canada needs to do differently in round two versus the USA on Thursday. The States will come hard and limit chances in their own end, but Canada will need to break through with a more balanced forward lineup. It really felt like they found the chemistry with their configurations Monday, particularly in the top six with Point-McDavid-Stone and Crosby-MacKinnon-Reinhart. But all this is a moot point unless they get no leaky goals from Binnington. We can talk about the other factors (on both the American and Canadian side) until we’re blue in the face, particularly the injury concerns for USA with Auston Matthews, Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and Charlie McAvoy, but when you really break it down, it comes down to Binnington. He isn’t Hellebuyck – something nobody is expecting – but the weak ones can’t find their way in. Post to post miracle saves are great and all, but they quickly become forgotten when squeakers find a way behind you through the middle of the net. For Canada to have a hope in this one, we can’t see any type of goals beat Binnington like we did on Saturday evening.
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