Canada’s men’s hockey team has 13 goals in four games.
Most of those were scored by defencemen.
That isn’t the offensive output expected from a team that came into the Sochi tournament with the top three NHL scorers, and 11 of the top 25.
That number’s even more shocking considering the team’s four games have been against an injury-plagued Finnish team and three weak hockey nations in Norway, Austria and Latvia.
Of those 13 Canadian goals, seven have been scored by defencemen Drew Doughty or Shea Weber. That leaves the coterie of maple leaf-clad superstar forwards with six goals in four games.
Of those six, Jeff Carter has three and Ryan Getzlaf, Jamie Benn and Patrick Sharp have one each: Only four Canadian forwards have scored this tournament.
If the Canadians can’t figure out how to generate offence by their Friday game against the Americans, they’ll likely be playing for bronze on Saturday – not gold on Sunday.
Why haven’t Canadian forwards been able to score? Why can’t the best players in the world play to their capabilities?
There are three main factors.
Chemistry
Head coach Mike Babcock is known for line juggling when things aren’t going well for his team, but it has become a bit excessive.
There’s a learning curve involved for teams with very little experience playing together. And familiarity among forwards can be a valuable asset. There was much speculation Chris Kunitz had been drafted just because he was Crosby’s winger in the NHL.
Canada also has two other pairs of teammates up front: Corey Perry and Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks and Toews and Sharp, who play for the Chicago Blackhawks. Even these combinations have yet to be effective for Canada, and have been split up, with the exception of Perry and Getzlaf.
The constant rotation of linemates hasn’t allowed any chemistry to develop. Canada could be a very dangerous team if the forwards were in sync and comfortable with each other, which does not appear to be the case.
The spotlight has been on Crosby and the coaching staff’s inability to find linemates for the world’s best player. Much of the problem has been his linemates’ tendency to look for Crosby every time they get the puck instead of just playing their game and shooting.
Crosby was originally lined up with Kunitz and Carter. Babcock even joked before the tournament that “if Carter passes back to Sid, he’s off the line.”
Kunitz has been struggling to generate any offence on the big ice and Crosby only has two assists in the four games. Patrice Bergeron has recently emerged as a potential linemate for Crosby and has appeared to be the most comfortable option on the top line so far.
Savvy European defence
Another reason for the lack of Canadian offence is the way the European teams have been defending against them.
The European-style defence of collapsing towards the goal, keeping offensive teams to the outside and relying on the goaltender, has frustrated the Canadians all tournament. Finland and Latvia did this particularly effectively. In those two games, Canada had a combined four goals -only one coming from forwards. Drew Doughty scored both goals in the overtime win over Finland.
As the tournament has progressed, Canada’s opponents have gained more knowledge of what works defensively. They knew they’d never be able to compete with Canada in an offensive, run-and-gun style of play. So they relied on their defence.
For Norway, Finland and Latvia, keeping the stacked Canadian team to three, two and two goals, respectively is a major accomplishment.
Predictable Canadian offence
The third factor in the Canadian forwards’ inability to score is their lack of adjustment. Canada has been too predictable in their attack, and a predictable team is a team that’s easy to defend against.
European teams have kept Canada to the outside and the forwards have not tried to do much about it. Most have looked content to cycle the puck behind the net and use defencemen as the primary shooters.
The front of the net has been clogged by defenders for the most part, but that shouldn’t stop Canada’s forwards from driving the net hard, something they haven’t done in the first four Olympic games.
While Canada’s built for speed, they’re also the biggest and most physically imposing team in the tournament. Using their size to their advantage will be critical if they hope to repeat as Olympic champions. Driving the net will create scoring chances, draw penalties and cause confusion in the defensive zone – all things that will lead to more goals for Canada.
Scoring two goals may be enough to beat a bruised up Finnish squad and it may be enough to get past the Latvians. But it won’t be enough against the high-flying Americans if Canada’s forwards can’t figure out how to put the puck in the net.
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