Above: A big day on the rinks, with a gold medal race in short track speed skating and the women’s hockey team overcoming Finland. Then there was the arrival of the men’s hockey team, who proved popular with security agents at the airport in Sochi. Eric Sorensen reports.
Canada’s Olympic men’s hockey team has arrived in Sochi and the quest to defend their gold medal from Vancouver has officially begun.
As befits such a beloved sport, there’s always incredible pressure on the 25 players representing Canada.
Canada’s first game is Thursday against Norway. Much of the focus heading into the start of the tournament revolves around two questions: Who will play with whom? Who will start in net?
Balancing the lines when there’s so much talent may prove to be a tough task for Head Coach Mike Babcock. Three pairs of NHL teammates will most likely play together: Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry of the Anaheim Ducks and Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp of the Chicago Blackhawks. All three duos play on the same line for their respective NHL teams.
Figuring out who will fit alongside them on the four Canadian forward lines will be the hard part. Prior to his injury, many projections had Steven Stamkos slated to play on the top line with Crosby and Kunitz. Now, with Stamkos out of the competition, that spot remains up for grabs.
Martin St. Louis is Stamkos’ replacement on the team but is not a likely fit for that line as his skill set is not the same as Stamkos’: St. Louis relies more on speed and quickness whereas Stamkos is a bigger guy with an exceptional shot. Jeff Carter or Rick Nash would be more suitable linemates for Crosby as both have strong shooting ability.
With an abundance of forwards who are natural centres, the question of who will move to the wings also remains.
WATCH: Global’s Stuart Greer on Team Canada’s first day in Sochi
Crosby, Getzlaf and Toews will likely be three of the centres. John Tavares is the most likely candidate to take the fourth centre spot as he has been tearing up the NHL this season and Babcock may not want to mess with that.
Patrice Bergeron is also an option, as he’s the best faceoff man on the team, although Toews is extremely adept in the faceoff circle as well.
Other than those five, Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, Patrick Sharp and Patrick Marleau are all natural centres, though Sharp and Marleau have spent time on the wing with their NHL teams.
Duchene and St. Louis may not crack the lineup and could be used as reserves. But if things don’t go well for Canada early on, look for Duchene to replace someone in the lineup: His blazing speed will be handy on the bigger international ice surface.
On defence, there is less uncertainty. Jay Bouwmeester and Alex Pietrangelo play together with the St. Louis Blues and will most likely make up one of the top three pairings for Canada.
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In net, coaches have announced that Carey Price will get the start on Thursday against Norway, meaning Roberto Luongo will be between the pipes on Friday against Austria. After that, the goalies’ play will determine who carries the majority of the load. Third goalie Mike Smith isn’t expected to see much action.
Both Price and Luongo have been relied on heavily in the NHL and have, for the most part, been up to the task. The only way a clear cut starter will emerge in the coming days is if one of the netminders has a terrible performance in their first start.
Canada took the ice in Sochi for their first practice Monday, which gave the first glimpse of Babcock’s potential line combinations:
- Kunitz – Crosby – Carter
- Sharp – Toews – Nash
- Marleau – Getzlaf – Perry
- Benn – Tavares – Bergeron
Tavares also spent time playing with Sharp and Nash, while Toews centered Bergeron and Benn for part of the practice, as well.
On defence, the pairings were as expected.
- Weber – Keith
- Doughty – Vlasic
- Bouwmeester – Pietrangelo
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