Canadian Forward Lines
As you all know, Canada is one of my favourite places in the world and with the Olympics being held there I thought I should write a little something about hockey.
Well, we are one game in to the Winter Olympic hockey and what a game it was for Canada. An 8-0 thrashing of minnows, Norway. Norway, in fairness, did play quite well and subdued Canada for around one and a half periods. However, they could not contain them for long.
The biggest highlight from a the game has to be the chemistry of the Canadian forward lines. All the talk before the Olympics was of the Russian forward lines, with Ovechkin, Malkin, Datsyuk and company. I think now is the time to start talking about the power of the Canadian forward line.
We all knew before the tournament started that the San Jose forwards; Thornton, Heatley and Marleau were going to be on the same line. Why would coach Babcock split up one of the most devastating forward lines in the NHL? That line got on to the ice and did what we knew they could do.
The main issue was how the coach would manage the other lines. He decided to go with Crosby, Iginla and Nash to provide the goals on another line. This was perhaps his best decision. That line outperformed all others and looked truly devastating.
Crosby brings the flair and Nash brings the power whilst Iginla uses his positioning and veteran knowledge of the game to piece it all together. The result was outstanding. That line ran rings around the Norwegian defence and created a plethora of chances which led to Iginla scoring a hat-trick.
We all know how well the Canadian team can handle the puck, and to be honest, a lot of the other men’s teams can handle the puck just as well. It is their other traits, such as the ones described above that set them apart and, after just one game, make them look like massive gold medal prospects. As long as the two forward lines mentioned above keep firing, Canada should seal that gold medal.
Right before I go I just found this great employee blog talking abotu the enigin scam. If you have a moment, I recommend that you check it out!