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United States: «guys owe nothing to anyone»
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
United States: «guys owe nothing to anyone»
Credit: Getty Images
So, how are you feeling after the match on Saturday night?

The United States won a game that no team wanted to lose. In fact, within the first nine seconds of the match, the Americans had put the game out of reach for Canada.

And after that, good luck trying to beat the American goalie. It really took Connor McDavid at his best to fool his vigilance…

By necessity, the situation in front of the net raises questions. How much is Canada shooting itself in the foot by keeping Jordan Binnington in net?

We knew that Canada had a chance of being let down by its goalies, and on Saturday, it happened. The team lost its momentum when Binnington allowed his first goal, which was stoppable.

When it was 2-1 for the States, Connor Hellebuyck had to give up two goals… and Jordan Binnington had to be perfect. It was quite the challenge, to put it that way.

We know that Jon Cooper has already chosen his goalie for the afternoon match (against Sweden), but he hasn’t said anything publicly yet. And let’s just say many Canadians are expecting a goalie change…

How much pressure is Doug Armstrong, the hockey boss of the Blues and a member of Team Canada, putting to keep his goalie? How much is Bruce Cassidy (assistant to Jon Cooper) pushing for Adin Hill to play? I don’t know.

But I do know one thing: the Canadian country club (the one that cost Logan Thompson and Mark Scheifele their spots) isn’t exactly helping the team the way things are going.

Canada is a victim of people who have interests in the team and who must think about their return to the NHL. And for those who think that doesn’t matter, remember that Martin St-Louis left Tampa Bay because of what happened with Team Canada in 2014.

All this to say that the United States doesn’t have that problem. Renaud Lavoie (BPM Sports) Mike Sullivan isn’t coaching any of his players; the goalie coach comes from the Kings, and the team’s GM (Bill Guerin) has only one Wild player on his team: Matt Boldy.

Guys owe nothing to anyone. – Renaud Lavoie talking about the USA’s leaders

Is this an element that makes Canada need to look in the mirror and have more… independent people for the future? The question deserves to be asked.

Especially if Canada were to miss out on gold.


overtime

Today, at 1 PM, Canada and Finland will face off. And at 8 PM, Sweden and the United States will clash. These are the last matches of the preliminary four nations tournament.

The final, which will surely involve the United States, will take place on Thursday. No one else will have more than five points in the standings.

For Sweden to participate in the final, the team must win in regulation against the United States and hope that the match between Canada and Finland goes to overtime.

Sweden lost to Canada and Finland in Montreal.

Canada (ideally with Cale Makar) and Finland, by winning in regulation this afternoon, can secure their places in the final. If the match – which won’t be easy – goes to overtime, the winner of the duel must hope that Sweden does not win its match in 60 minutes later in the day.

Note that the United States will not play based on their opponents: they will play based on what’s best for them. If that means resting Matthew Tkachuk (which is currently planned) for the final… so be it.

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