Well, my back-up team is officially out of the tournament. Sweden fell in dramatic fashion to Slovakia last night marking the end for the current gold medal holders and possibly the end of Peter Forsberg on your TV sets.
While there are rumors Peter Forsberg might try to make another return, his foot seems to be acting up. He’s still a dominant force, but he’s not operating at full speed anymore. He played well in the Olympics, but as much as it hurts me to say, we might have seen the last of Peter Forsberg playing in North America let alone another Olympic Games.
Regardless, yesterday’s action was incredible. USA pulled out another nail-biter against the Swiss, whose trap scheme seemed to have been giving even the best teams in the tournament the fits.
Canada absolutely killed Russia. It’s not even fair to say that it was that bad because the game was still entertaining to watch. The line of Richards, Toews, and Nash was an unstoppable force of raw energy. They used Richards to shadow Ovechkin’s line quite a bit, which ended up being the biggest factor in the game. While Canada’s San Jose line of Marleau, Heatley, and Thornton showed off another weak defensive performance, they did manage to score some goals. Crosby, much like Ovechkin, was once again invisible.
Regardless, it appears as though the United States, by beating Canada early, has only managed to awaken a slumbering giant. If the teams do meet again in the gold medal game, it’s not going to be easy.
Kimmo Timonen advances with Finland. Slovakia, as I mentioned before, upsets Sweden and Peter Forsberg.
A tribute to the last time I will probably ever watch my favorite player of all time:
Also don’t forget that the Women’s Gold Medal game is this afternoon. I understand some people’s reservations toward women’s ice hockey, but it’s still Team USA. As the men’s tournament takes a break before the medal rounds, Team USA and Team Canada will face off for the gold medal of women’s hockey at 6:00 PM EST on MSNBC. Be sure to at least check it out to support Team USA.
Now, on to the fun.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 26TH
03:00PM EST – USA (1) vs. FINLAND (4) (NBC)
09:30PM EST – CANADA (6) vs. SLOVAKIA (7) (CNBC)
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 27TH
10:00PM EST – BRONZE MEDAL TBD (MSNBC)
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 28TH
03:15PM EST – GOLD MEDAL TBD (NBC)
Ryan Miller will try to keep his Olympic hot-streak alive in the medal rounds against Kimmo Timonen and Team Finland.
