USA vs. Norway Wrap Up

“Not-so-Live” Blog: United States vs. Norway
Coming off a slightly less than stellar opening game against the Swiss, Team U.S.A. would like to use this game against Norway as a sort of stepping stone, if you will. This is an opportunity for them to work out the kinks and get rid of the rust. It will also serve as an opportunity to build up some chemistry within the locker room and on the ice.

1st Period:
Unfortunately, I don’t tune in until the 17:54 mark once again, but this time I promise it’s not my fault. We were treated to an epic finish in men’s curling, but as we return to action, Phil Kessel flies into the zone for his first Olympic goal. He goes top shelf on the Norwegian net minder Paul Grotnes. The Madison, Wisconsin native gets a pass from fellow cheese head Joe Pavelski. I would be remiss if I failed to mention Ryan Malone had the other assist on the goal.

Team U.S.A. is flying high early generating chances and shots; a much faster start than the game against the Swiss. I said on Facebook earlier for Joe Pavelski and Patrick Kane to have big days today. I forgot to mention Phil Kessel, who is somewhat of a role model for me. With 14:48 to go, barely five minutes in, the shots are 7-1 in favor of Team U.S.A.

Tim Gleason finally registers a shot in these games but right into the glove of Grotnes. Overall, it’s a much better start for the U.S. team. They’re doing everything right and getting about all they could hope for from all lines.

Despite the early goal, Grotnes continues to make some big saves and is weathering the barrage of shots from Team U.S.A. We have our first penalty of the contest for a stick hold against Norway around the 10:00 mark of the period. I’m hearing a lot of iron so far in the game; one off the pipe on the power play along with Pavelski’s earlier. Miller is tested for the first time as Norway kills off the power play. A slick back hand pass fools the U.S. as Patrik Thoreson comes through the back side but Miller is quick to shut the door. Two minutes later, the States score again with Chris Drury on the doorstep from a rebound. This goal is the result of sharp presence in the zone by David Backes. Backes kept the puck in the zone at the far point, checked down to Brooks Orpik, but made the pass to the slot where Chris Drury ultimately banged it through for his first Olympic goal.

Kristian Forsberg gets an opportunity on a 2-on-1 resulting from a turnover with a little over four minutes to go in the period. Still only a handful of shots for Norway, but they are gradually getting chances. As they alluded to on the broadcast, these are games goalies hate to play in. A stellar goalie like Miller can get cold in a hurry with so few shots by the opposition.

Norway will head to the box with 2:24 to go after an altercation in front of the Norway net. MATS ZUCCARELLO AASEN gets the penalty. Paul Stastny has his spot picked out right in front of Grotnes on the power play. Pavelski slips off the boards and gets off a wicked wrist shot right into the chest of Grotnes. The Norwegians have killed off both U.S. Power Play opportunities. Ryan Malone gets off a late shot with about a second left, but Grotnes throws it aside to end the period. Team U.S.A. played much better than their first period against Switzerland. Furthermore, it seemed like the boys kept their foot on the gas the entire period and didn’t try to just sit on the early lead. I’ll look (and hope) for more of the same into the second period.

2nd Period:
NBC was three seconds late coming back to coverage… big surprise. The period starts with Norway controlling in the American zone trying to get a chance, but no luck. They do, however, register the first shot of the second period. David Backes will take a high sticking call at 2:29 of the second period setting Norway up for their first man advantage. Kesler and Langenbrunner quickly clear the zone. Team U.S.A. isn’t giving Norway much room on the power play so far. The Norwegians aren’t making very smart passes on special teams as they’ve been tipped or picked off and cleared. Kesler’s latest clear will kill the Backes penalty. Just as Backes steps back on the ice, MATS ZUCCARELLO AASEN finesses his way in front of Miller, but the Buffalo goaltender holds on. It is only Norway’s third shot of the game, “officially.”

The youngsters are making me look good today. Patrick Kane picks up the pieces in front of the net. Zach Parise takes the initial shot from the near point, but Grotnes gives up a juicy rebound to Patrick Kane with a wide open net. All the goal scorers have registered their first career Olympic goals today. Immediately following the goal, Norway generates yet another odd man rush led by Tore Vikingstad. This may have been the best chance they’ve had. Paul Stastny just took a vicious hit in the corner. As they mentioned again on the broadcast, following the hit, Brian Rafalski immediately came to Stastny’s defense. Not to retaliate with a dirty hit of his own, but just a quick jab to the Norwegian bully to let him know that they will not be pushed around. I think it’s safe to say the chemistry is now evident for Team U.S.A.

Rafalski is taken down by Tore Vikingstad in the corner at 8:26. Team U.S.A. will go to their third power play. Now here’s Norway with a shorthanded 2-on-1; Langenbruner falls down after whiffing on an open chance, but it allows Norway to take it in shorthanded with a 2-on-1 and this time it burns Miller. Marius Holtlet scores his first Olympic goal, a shorthanded marker with a little over 11 minutes to play. Still 1:29 to go on the U.S. power play. I’m intrigued as to how the power play will respond. Moreover, how will Team U.S.A. as a whole respond? I’ve already lost count of the odd man rushes they’ve relinquished in this game. If they can’t fix this problem before the Canada game on Sunday Night, it could be recipe for disaster. Norway leads the period in shots 4-3, getting more chances than the U.S. on their own power play.
David Backes is playing a whale of a game throwing the body and setting up nice plays like in the first period. He’s been involved in a couple of heavy collisions, but he himself is no worse for wear. At 12:27, Team U.S.A. will head to their fourth power play. They’ve come up goose eggs so far on the man advantage and will need to start a fire for the power play and possibly think about putting this game out of reach for Norway. In any case, a power play goal here would be absolutely demoralizing for the Norwegians. The penalty was for charging, but USA doesn’t like throwing up the time and name of the guilty party heading to the sin bin. So we’ll chalk that up to the graphics department for USA and not on my faulty reporting skills this time. Grotnes has come up large since the third goal for Norway. They’re turning up their checking game a bit to counter the U.S. attack as well. Pavelski drills a shot off of the mask of Grotnes stopping play.

Joe Pavelski is all over the place on the U.S. power play. He is a man possessed and determined to put the puck in the net. The former Waterloo Blackhawk has shown uncanny awareness on the ice in front of the net, making passes and taking shots. He’s done just about everything besides putting the puck in the net.
Miller was forced to hold his breath on a Norway shot that was redirected on the way to the net, but no harm done. After a moment of instability, the U.S. appears unphased by the Norway goal. The scoring opportunities have almost evened out for both sides in the second period. Each team gets a decent chance as the period closes along with some extracurricular activities after the horn, or whatever that thing is they’re blowing at GM Place. I’ve noticed a little post-whistle fisticuffs picking up a bit. I don’t think much will come of that due to the harsh consequences of fighting in international play. Through two periods, 22-9 shots in favor of the U.S.

This was no doubt a very sloppy second period for the U.S. The odd man rushes MUST STOP. However, it seems like the boys know this as you may have noticed in the interview with Zach Parise. He mentioned the fact that it needs to be cleaned up “before we play a team like Canada.” To add insult to injury, the Norway goal on the 2-on-1 was shorthanded. It’s hard for me to sit here and place blame on Jamie Langenbrunner. He lost an edge trying to turn around for the puck, but before he got to his feet, Norway was halfway to a shorthanded goal. Players lose an edge on their skates all the time, Langenbrunner just came at really bad time. Final thought before the third period – any money as to when Jeremy Roenick is going to drop kick Mike Millbury in the face? I can sense quite a bit of tension on-air.

Third Period:

This could be a critical period for Team U.S.A. Not necessarily for the result of this game, but in preparations for the showdown with Canada on Sunday Night. This is their last game situation opportunity to work out all the issues and fix what needs to be fixed (odd man rushes) before they take on the nearly flawless Canadian team.

The Kane and Parise line has impressed in this game so far after not doing much in the Swiss game. These two seem to know where one another is at all times on the ice, but not in the same creepy way that Sedin twins do for the Canucks. Jack Johnson will get a penalty for tripping MATS ZUCCARELLO AASEN. In case you’re wondering why Zuccarello’s name is in all caps in this piece, I’ll be man enough to admit that I’m too lazy to type this kid’s name over and over again. Yes, I copy and pasted. Langenbrunner and Kesler developed a 2-on-1 shorthanded and almost cashed in. Pierre Mcguire is really letting Tim Gleason have it right now for “pinching in shorthanded” saying he’s lucky the Norwegians didn’t take it the other way. Well, he may be right, but come on; Kesler and Langenbrunner had a chance going the other way. The three man crew is completely unnecessary for these games, not to mention the NBC game of the week. I like Emerick and Eddie Olczyk are a pretty solid crew by themselves, but Pierre Mcguire loves to hear himself talk. The comparisons of Joe Pavelski to Joe Sakic really need to just stop. I like Pavs now, but I don’t think anyone on that slab of ice today is on the same level as Joe Sakic at his prime.

A nearly disastrous turnover for the U.S. almost makes this a one goal game. Miller was quick to react and is probably getting a bit agitated with his defense. Ron Wilson must feel the same way, but it’s partially his responsibility to help work with some of these guys between now and Sunday to keep the turnovers and odd man rushes to a minimum. As I say that, another one, this time a 3-on-2 develops for Norway. I’m not saying Jonathan Quick or Tim Thomas wouldn’t have stopped all of these shots, but Ryan Miller is a big part of why Norway only has one on the board. He has been quick on his feet, but not really needing to stand on his head. It’s merely the fact that Norway is getting the ridiculous chances via the turnovers but Miller is there and he is ready. I’ve been impressed with Miller through the first two games. Like I mentioned in the last post, Miller had seen his share of turmoil since the middle of January as the Sabres had cooled off quite a bit. He was giving up goals in bunches at times. However, since he arrived in Vancouver, he’s been equal to the task.

Ryan Malone is now the team leader in goals; Jack Johnson shows what he can do with the stick as he goes inside and outside into the zone. The rebound on Johnson’s shot came to Ryan Malone as he slaps it past Grotnes. It’s Malone’s second goal of the games. Ryan Miller will pick up an assist on the goal as he made a fine pass to Jack Johnson to lead the rush.

Pavelski feeds Kessel again for another chance, much like Pavs’ did in the first, but Kessel is denied on the breakaway. I spoke about chemistry earlier, but here is more evidence of the team coming together. Pavelski and Kessel have similar awareness on the ice as Kane and Parise seem to have now. The two never played together, but they are both former Badgers at Wisconsin.

The issue no longer seems to be in doubt at 4-1 and Team U.S.A. on another power play with less than four minutes to go as Bobby Ryan took a high stick to the face. That penalty results in another US goal – hard to keep up with these guys now. Good work in the corner by Parise to dig it out and slip behind the net and find a crashing Brian Rafalski for the first power play tally of the day. They’re 1-5 on the man advantage today. The power play is another aspect of the game that Ron Wilson might want the guys to work on before Canada comes calling in three days.

Under one minute to play, and the U.S. is starting to have fun now. A faceoff to the left of Grotnes was won by none other than Joe Pavelski as he played it back to Brian Rafalski. Too much traffic in front of Grotnes for this one as Rafalski picks up his second goal of the period. Pavelski notches his second assist today as well. A three goal third period puts this into the win column for the States.

Norway didn’t roll over for Ron Wilson’s team and I’m glad they didn’t. They’re certainly not a high-caliber team like Canada, but they held their own. There was a real danger that Team U.S.A. could have looked ahead to the marquee matchup on Sunday. However, they seemed locked in from the opening faceoff scoring in less than three minutes. They controlled the pace through the entire first period. Norway played its best hockey in the second period. I wasn’t sure how the shorthanded goal was going to affect the play of Team U.S.A. the rest of the way, but all things considered, I think they responded well. They managed to get some quality shots off after a couple minutes of trying to reconvene.

David Backes has been one of the best players so far for the U.S. He has a goal and an assist, but he’s done so much more than just show up on the score sheet. He’s making the passes, setting screens and throwing some heavy hits. I think he helped spark the U.S. in the hit department as the game today went on. Backes has also played well with Bobby Ryan of Anaheim. In fact, Team U.S.A. really developed their chemistry today, in a big way. The chemistry is there now; there should be no more questions as to whether these kids can play with each other, whether the chemistry is present on the lines or defensive pairings. This was the game they needed to have early in this tournament. All the lines got in on the action. Backes and Ryan are playing well, Kane and Parise, and especially Joe Pavelski and Phil Kessel who almost hooked up almost twice today (but did once). It came together against Norway. If I may steal a quote from Mike Ditka during his days with Saints: “I think we became a team today… we became a team!” (The video amuses me for some reason).

Speaking of amusing, if you want a laugh, keep listening to Mike Millbury talk. If you want a reason to throw something at your television, keep listening to Mike Millbury talk. I take Mike Millbury’s “analysis” with a grain of salt. He already says that Canada will, in not so many words, destroy the U.S. on Sunday. Now, I’m not saying that can’t happen, because it will if they play like they did today with the turnovers and the lackluster play on special teams (particularly the power play). All this, though, coming from the man that is partially responsible for the abyss that the New York Islanders have fallen into this decade. I couldn’t agree with Jeremy Roenick more at this point. Going into the Canada game, it has to be Miller between the pipes. Like any playoff season, you ride the hot goalie through the post season to get you to the Promised Land. Goaltending alone will not beat Canada. It will take goaltending, defense, scoring, and fewer turnovers. There’s no question that Team U.S.A. has their work cut out for them on Sunday Night and there is much work to be done before then. But don’t write these guys off yet. It’s still early in the tournament and a scrappy Swiss team had Canada on the ropes tonight on the brink of embarrassment. I’m confident that Ron Wilson will help this team make the needed corrections in the strategy and special teams, having them ready to go on Sunday. You forget… this is the Olympics. Some pretty special stuff happens here.