Team USA entered the GM place Sunday night, donning their 1960 replica sweaters in hopes of capturing some of the magic that led them to their last victory over their North American rivals fifty years ago. Facing a star studded Canadian roster and a crowd that looked more like the Red Sea, team USA did what most thought to be improbable if not impossible and toppled the hockey giant 5-3.
The looks on the faces of the Canadian hopeful when Kesler extended to tap in the empty netter in the waning seconds of the game, says it all. This team, this game are what Canada is all about and as you can imagine there are a lot of uneasy canucks in Vancouver analyzing what went wrong and what they can do to improve from here. Hey Einsteins! here's a thought...there just happens to be a guy sitting on your bench who within the past two nhl seasons has been a key element in seven, count em seven playoff series victories complimented by two game seven wins that featured stoning Alex Ovechkin on a clean break away and denying Lidstrom in the final seconds of the Stanley Cup Finals. You want to talk about big game ability, Luongo is not a name that comes to mind, on the other hand Fleury has made winning big games a hobby of his, and no one should no that better than Canadian coach Mike Babcock. regardless of the daunting argument for Fleury, team Canada will opt to go with Luongo who hasn't won a big game in....well his entire career he is 11-11 in playoff appearances with only two series victories.
Whatever Canada decides to do they will remain a force in this tournament, and whoever they go with between the pipes, he will still be better off than his opponent who will have the responsibility of taming Sidney Crosby and Canada's potent offensive attack. Canada's loss Sunday is a minor setback and nothing more, look for Canada to eliminate Russia en route to the gold medal game...Perhaps a rematch with team USA...USA...USA!
