Post-Olympic Chaos: New Jersey Devils Edition
Posted by freezethepuck on March 1, 2010
As I’m sure many of you know by now, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics came to an end last night.
Martin Brodeur #30 and Team Canada players file off the ice after receiving the gold medals won during the ice hockey men's gold medal game between USA and Canada on day 17 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Canada Hockey Place on February 28, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. (February 27, 2010 - Photo by Harry How/Getty Images North America)
The Devils sent five players to the hockey tournament. Three came home with medals. Martin Brodeur reigned supreme with a gold medal, while Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner lost in an intense gold-medal matchup yesterday. They settled for silver.
Unfortunately, Patrik Elias and Ilya Kovalchuk were knocked out of the tournament before the medal games.
The big story of the Olympic tournament was the rivalry that developed between Canada and the United States. It began on February 21, 2010. The United States and Canada, destined to meet since the schedule came out, played their final preliminary game against one another. The winner would finish atop their bracket, and grab a by into the quarterfinals; the loser, would play for a chance to get into the quarterfinals.
Everyone expected Canada to dominated the Americans, but the US quickly showed Canada they weren’t going to give Canada the win, at least not easily.
Brodeur started in net for the second game in a row (after Roberto Luongo started Canada’s first Olympic game). Largely considered to be a lock for the number one goalie for Canada, Brodeur showed his vulnerability early and often.
Ex-Devil, Brian Rafalski, opened the scoring for the Americans 41 seconds into the game. The Canadians seemed stunned, but they knew they had to bounce back.
Eric Staal tied up the game nearly eight minutes later, but Rafalski added another goal to end the first period. The Americans led the Canadians two to one; something no one could have predicted.
Once again, Canada tied the game off of a Ryan Getzlaf goal. However, Chris Drury put America back on top shortly after.
Langenbrunner added a goal in the third to make the score four to two, but Sidney Crosby fought hard to pull Canada within one of the Americans.
Then, with less than a minute remaining, the net empty, Parise chipped the puck off the boards, and his teammate, Ryan Kesler, chased it down, battling hard before he finally sealed the win for the Americans.
That was it. Canada had to beat Germany to get an opportunity at playing in the playoffs. Then, they would have to follow up that with a win over Russia.
Many looked ahead and anticipated (and probably prayed) for a rematch in the gold-medal game. With the Americans’ win over Finland on Friday and the Canadian’s win over Slovakia, their fates were sealed.
It would be a battle for North America, a Gold Medal, and pride. Who would win?
Both teams claimed the “underdog” title. Though, how either team could claim to be an underdog when both teams were one of the few teams in the entire tournament complied completely of NHLers, is rather odd.
Regardless, the world anticipated the rematch, while many worried about the outcome.
The first matchup, a week before, ranked as one of the highest hockey games ever watched in Canada, and the rankings fared well in America as well (especially considering NBC did not broadcast this game). The question was, how many would watch this game?
Paul Stastny #26 of the United States controls the puck under pressure from Jonathan Toews #16 of Canada during the ice hockey men
Well, finally the game began, a little after three eastern time, with many on the edges of their seats. Nearly every fan covered GM Place (home of the Vancouver Canucks) in red. The home team had the support, that’s for sure.
After the nerves settled for both teams, about five minutes in, the game began to open up. Unfortunately for American fans, Canada’s Jonathan Toews opened the scoring this time. It was his first goal of the tournament, but the Chicago Blackhawk was a dominant force behind the Canadian’s success.
The US could not catch up the rest of the period, and Canada walked away from the first period leading the Americans. Big change from the previous week.
In the second, Corey Perry put the Canadians up two to zero. The Americans seemed to battle harder. Finally, Kesler scored on his Vancouver teammate, Luongo.
The second period ended with the Americans down by one again, but a little more momentum on their side.
The score remained unchanged until the last minute. With Ryan Miller on the bench, Parise scored with twenty-five seconds to go to tie the game. The Americans were surging.
The game headed to a twenty-minute sudden death overtime. Winner take all. Nearly seven minutes into the overtime, Crosby ended the game, and gave the Canadians another Gold Medal.
The USA silver medal hockey team line up at the men's ice hockey medal ceremony at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The Americans collapsed. Most looked devastated beyond belief. Parise looked ready to cry, Langenbrunner looked pissed, Miller looked heartbroken, and Patrick Kane, well he looked over at his Chicago teammates celebrating their Gold Medal, hurt and probably a little jealous.
A Silver Medal at the Olympics is not feat to overlook, but as many said over the past few days: you don’t win a silver medal in a hockey tournament. You win to get the Bronze and the Gold, you lose to get the silver.
It will take time for the Americans to accept their Silver Medals and appreciate them. The wound remains fresh for now. Dustin Brown, American forward, put it best: (Taken from the Vancouver Sun post from Elliot Pap)
“I know it’s a silver medal but, in a tournament like this, you want nothing but a gold,” said Dustin Brown, the L.A. Kings captain. “That’s what we came here to do. I’m sure after you decompress and, a few years down the road, you’ll be proud of it. But not now. I’ve never experienced a swing of emotions like that at this level. We had good momentum and they capitalized on one breakdown.”
USA's Ryan Miller, left, Zach Parise (9), and Jack Johnson, hang their heads after loosing 3-2 to Canada in the men's gold medal ice hockey game at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
So can we get a rematch in four years? After all, the ratings soared in both countries. The Canadians broke an all-time record for hockey games with 10.6 million viewers (up from 10.2 million back in the 2002 Gold Medal game, where Canada also defeated the US). About two-thirds of Canadians watched as Crosby scored the game-winner in overtime. Meanwhile, NBC reported 27.6 million Americans tuned into watch the game.
That’s great for hockey. The game showed hockey is more than just twelve men watching a puck fly around an ice surface. It’s a battle of will, strength, and skill. These two teams showcased exactly what hockey is all about. It would be a crime if the NHL kept its players from participating in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
For now, Gary Bettman‘s decision seems unclear. Maybe the ratings and results from this past tournament will sway him to keep NHLers participating in the Olympics, but the risk of injury may outweigh the benefit of gaining audiences.
What do you think should happen? Should the NHL keeps its players out of the Olympics? Or should NHLers be able to participate? Sound off below in the comments.
The tournament…
MVP: Ryan Miller
Best Forward: Jonathan Toews
Best Defenseman: Brian Rafalski
All-Tournament Team:
Goaltender: Ryan Miller
Defense: Shear Weber and Brian Rafalski
Left Wing: Zach Parise
Center: Jonathan Toews
Right Wing: Patrick Kane
The Devils resume play tomorrow night in San Jose. Figures, the first game back after a two-week break and the game will be broadcasted at 10:30 pm on the east coast.
The trade freeze lifted last night at midnight, and the deadline remains Wednesday. Kovalchuk, largely considered the hottest commodity on the market, is already a Devil, but will the Devils make any further changes? My guess, probably, maybe a defenseman or another forward for the stretch.
Check out my twitter feed for updates on the trade zone Freeze the Puck.
Tomorrow’s game updates will be delayed, but a post-game recap should be up Wednesday.
Just for kicks, here’s a picture of the USA Jersey Cake I made for the game yesterday:
