What Happened to Ryan Miller?

Ryan Miller has shown over the past few years that he is one of the best goaltenders in the world.  He has played extremely well throughout his career in Buffalo, and was the main story of the 2010 Winter Olympics with his stellar performance.  However, this season Miller is in the lower half of NHL goalies in statistics such as Goals Allowed Average and save percentage.  Even though Miller has been hurt for a few games this season, the Sabres have struggled in the 13 games that he has started as well.  Why is this?  Has Miller lost his touch in goal? Absolutely not.  The Sabres front office is to blame for Miller’s struggles this season.

This offseason, Buffalo’s top 2 defenders were free agents.  Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman were consistent defenders who had anchored the defense for years.  However, Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier, known for his conservative free agency moves and his inability and unwillingness to sign big contracts, let both of these players sign elsewhere.  The Buffalo defense was left completely depleted, and was left to be led by a second year player in Tyler Myers.  Regier then signed a mediocre defender in Jordan Leopold to offset the loss of the two defensive anchors in the offseason.  In the early part of the season, Leopold has shown an affinity for turning the puck over in critical situations, and often in the defensive zone, which consistently puts Miller in bad spots and leads to many goals that are given up through no fault of Miller.  He hasn’t lost the touch, but has no one in front of him to help deflect pressure from the opposing offense.

Therefore, defenders, often more so than the goaltenders themselves, are the major factors that determine the performance of goaltenders.  The goaltenders need to be talented, but the talent differential of goaltenders at the NHL level is often very miniscule.  The difference stems more from the quality and chemistry of the defenders in front of the goaltenders.  Defenders who work together, work with the goaltender, and control the puck in the zone make a larger impact than the talent or fundamentals of the goalie himself.

Consider the playoffs last season.  The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup behind rookie goaltender Antti Niemi.  Niemi had shown himself to be vulnerable at times, but played well enough in the playoffs to win the Stanley Cup.  However, Chicago thought so little of his performance that they walked away from his deal after he was awarded arbitration for the staggering salary of $2.75 million (sense the sarcasm).  The Blackhawks organization could not have been as impressed as all the analysts were with Niemi’s performance.  More likely, the Blackhawks realized that, as I have mentioned, the difference between the talent and fundamentals of goaltenders is so miniscule.  The organization realized that quality defenders like Duncan Keith and Brian Campbell were much more important to lock up long term.  Niemi is a good goaltender, but not a top 5 goaltender; Niemi was not why the Blackhawks won the Cup last season.  Defense is the most important factor, and because of this Chicago will not struggle in the transition from Antti Niemi to Marty Turco in net.

Consider the Philadelphia Flyers.  The team went to the Stanley Cup Finals behind journeyman goaltender Michael Leighton and seasoned, seasoned, and extra seasoned veteran goalie Brian Boucher (who hadn’t played meaningful hockey in nearly a decade).  However, the defense carried these goaltenders to impressive performances throughout the playoffs.  Chris Pronger especially had a major impact, as he logged heavy minutes and led the Philadelphia defense the whole season.  Neither Boucher nor Leighton will be known as top goalies, but they led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals, whereas goalies like Martin Brodeur and Ryan Miller were ousted in the first round of the playoffs.  Defense is the key.

Marc-Andre Fleury is another classic example.  He is a goalie that was a bit overhyped after he won the Stanley Cup, but always lacked fundamentals and showed a propensity to flail in net and not stay balanced.  Fleury always had a great defense in front of him, which hid many of his flaws.  However, in the past 2 years he has lost several quality defenders, including Sergei Gonchar this offseason, and Hal Gill the year before.  Now, Pittsburgh is lacking depth at defense, and it has clearly affected Fleury.  Fleury has been the biggest disappointment in goal this season, and has been replaced by backup Brent Johnson.  One has to realize how difficult it is to lose the top spot on the depth chart in the first 7 games after a 3 year history in net with the franchise that includes: an Eastern Conference Championship (2008), a Stanley Cup (2009), and a 4th place finish in the Eastern Conference (2010).  However, the Pittsburgh organization realizes that Fleury lacks mechanics in net, and no longer has such a quality defense behind him to compensate for his mistakes.  In other words, they realize that defense is the key, Fleury isn’t the goalie everyone thought he was, and Johnson has slightly better mechanics right now.

Therefore, while Miller might still have the best lateral movement in the league, might have the best instincts, and all else equal, might be the best goalie in hockey, he (and every other goalie) needs defense in front of him.  The Buffalo front office left Miller out to dry this offseason by losing the starting defensive line to free agency, and, quite simply, it is the reason that Miller is struggling in net right now.

2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs: What We Learned

Yesterday, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games.  This year’s playoffs showcased many upsets, previously unheralded players, and many unexpected twists.  Here are a few things we learned from this year’s playoffs:

We learned that this league is based upon parity.  In the Eastern Conference, the two lowest seeds (7 and 8), advanced to the Eastern Conference Final, and the Flyers advanced to the Stanley Cup Final.  Upsets were as prevalent as wins by the higher seeded team, and the regular season and seeding meant absolutely nothing in this year’s playoffs.

We learned that a big name, quality goaltender isn’t necessary.  Arguably the two best goalies in the world right now, Ryan Miller and Martin Brodeur, were eliminated in the first round by lower seeded teams.

However, we learned (and already knew) that consistent goaltending is the key.  Other than Evgeni Nabokov of San Jose, the three goaltenders participating in the Conference Finals (Antti Niemi, Chicago; Michael Leighton, Philadelphia; and Jaroslav Halak, Montreal) were either relatively or completely inexperienced at the playoff level.  However, even though these goaltenders are unheralded and haven’t performed consistently over the course of their careers (albeit many of them have been short to this point), they played very well in this postseason, and were keys to their teams’ successes.

We learned that the physical, tough-nosed style hasn’t completely been replaced by the quicker, more athletic style of play.  After the lockout in the middle of the decade, many rules were changed to benefit the smaller, quicker, more athletic teams.  However, teams such as Philadelphia and Montreal advanced far in the playoffs by beating quicker, more athletic teams by playing a tough, physical, and sometimes ugly style of hockey (Philly fans refer to the style as the “Broad Street Bully” style, hailing from the Flyer teams of the 1970s).  That style isn’t dead yet, but instead is still alive and kicking (no pun intended).

We learned that it doesn’t matter how one scores the final goal of the Stanley Cup Finals, it is still a thrill.  No red lights or horns need to go off, no music needs to start playing, no one else even needs to know that the puck went in the net.  When Patrick Kane shot the puck that was lodged in the side of the net, he knew it crossed the line.  He began skating down the other end of the ice, and his teammates, not quite knowing what happened, blindly followed in celebration.  The play was reviewed, and the goal stood.  The Blackhawks were Stanley Cup Champions.

Finally, we learned that redemption does happen, and that it is sweet for those who achieve it.  Marian Hossa lost the Stanley Cup Finals with Pittsburgh in 2008 and then turned down a large contract the next season with Pittsburgh for a 1 year deal with Detroit in an effort to win the Stanley Cup.  He then lost in the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals, to who else but Pittsburgh.  This season, he signed with Chicago, and looked to erase the “Hossa Curse.”  When the Blackhawks made the Stanley Cup Finals, some questioned whether Hossa would lose in three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals.  However, Hossa finally achieved the ultimate goal, and proved that good things come to those who wait.

NHL First Round Playoff Update

The first round of the NHL play0ffs has been thoroughly entertaining and has exhibited the parity that exists in the NHL.  To this point, the first round of the playoffs has been the most evenly contested first round that I have ever witnessed.  Each of the 8 series was tied at 1 game apiece after 2 games, and no team has had a 2 game lead yet in the playoffs.  These 4 opening round series are currently tied at 1 game each (through April 18th games): Buffalo vs. Boston, Chicago vs. Nashville, Washington vs. Montreal, and Vancouver vs. Los Angeles.  The other 4 series are 2-1, and in 2 of the series the lower seed is leading (Philadelphia (7th East) and Colorado (8th West)).  In the other 2 series, the 4th seeds in each conference are leading the 5th seeds 2 games to 1, neither of which were highly favored to win the series.  Therefore, there is no team that appears to be running easily through the first round into the conference semifinals, and this round will continue to be very close and competitive.

Some early storylines in the first round:

Colorado Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson has played incredibly well in the first round, as he has consistently faced more shots than San Jose’s Evgeni Nabokov.  Anderson has the Avalanche leading the series 2 games to 1.  His series performance was highlighted last night, when he made 51 saves in a Game 3 shutout.

Dan Boyle of the San Jose Sharks made one of the most embarrassing plays in recent memory last night.  Boyle inadvertently shot the puck into his own net in overtime to give the Avalanche a 1-0 overtime win in Game 3.  The play was very emblematic of San Jose’s recent playoff struggles, which have been well documented in the city of San Jose and by its fans.  The Sharks were booed off their home ice after losing Game 1 to the 8th seeded Avalanche because the fans grew too weary of and accustomed to their team losing to teams that were inferior opponents in the regular season.

The President’s Cup winning Washington Capitals need a 3 goal comeback in Game 2 in order to even the series with 8th seeded Montreal.  Goaltending has been the main problem for the Caps, as Jose Theodore has been extremely inconsistent early in the postseason and was pulled at one point in the series.

The New Jersey Devils were never an offensively gifted team, and the trade deadline move to get Ilya Kovalchuk was an attempt to put an offensive threat into the power lacking offense.  However, thus far in the postseason the Devils have had trouble creating scoring opportunities, and have needed power plays to get decent scoring chances.  Martin Brodeur has played very well in net for the Devils, but the Devils have not scored enough to reward Brodeur’s performance.

The first round of the playoffs continues tonight, with three Game 3’s scheduled.  At 7:00PM, top seeded Washington will travel to (8) Montreal, and (3) Buffalo will play at (6) Boston to attempt to take a 2-1 series lead.  At 10:00PM, (6) Los Angeles will host (3) Vancouver in Game 3 of that series.  Stay tuned for more playoff coverage in the coming days.

NHL First Round Playoff Predictions

The first round of the NHL playoffs begins Wednesday with 4 games.  82 regular season games has dwindled the field to 16 teams, and here are my predictions for the first round:

IN THE EAST:

1] Washington Capitals beat 8] Montreal Canadiens in 4 games

The Capitals have been the best team in the league all season, and have disposed of Eastern Conference opponents consistently.  This series will be no different, as the Capitals simply have too much firepower with Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Alexander Semin for the Canadiens to compete.

2] New Jersey Devils beat 7] Philadelphia Flyers in 7 games

This matchup of Atlantic Division rivals will be a very entertaining series.  Although New Jersey is set in its goaltending with perennial All-Star Martin Brodeur, and Philadelphia is on its 5th goalie this season with Brian Boucher, this series is more balanced than one would be led to believe.  The Flyers have fared very well against New Jersey this season and have a winning record against the Devils.  Key factors in the series are Ilya Kovalchuk for the Devils and Brian Boucher for the Flyers.  The Devils picked up Kovalchuk at the trade deadline to improve the team’s lacking offense.  If Kovalchuk can have success offensively against the Flyers, Philadelphia doesn’t have enough offensive firepower to win a high scoring series with Brodeur in the New Jersey net.  However, if Boucher can hold the Devils in check on offense, the Flyers may be able to steal a few games in the series and potentially move to the next round.  This series is one of the series to watch closely in the first round.

3] Buffalo Sabres beat 6] Boston Bruins in 5 games

In a matchup of Northeast Division rivals, these teams will not play passively.  Both teams have much disdain for one another, and this series will be a classic physical battle.  An interesting fact is that the goaltenders in this series (Ryan Miller for Buffalo and Tim Thomas for Boston), were the starting and backup goalies for the USA Olympic Hockey Team, respectively.  This series will be determined by which goalie will be better in net.  Miller has been the best goalie in the league this season, but the Sabres have lacked offensive firepower at times.  Expect a low scoring series with quality defense and goaltending. 

5] Ottawa Senators beat 4] Pittsburgh Penguins in 7 games

The Penguins seem to have become America’s team since the team won the Stanley Cup.  However, the Senators may be the most underrated team in hockey.  The Sens made a run from the 8 spot to the 5 spot towards the end of the season, and looks to ride its late season momentum into the playoffs.  Alexei Kovalev and team captain Daniel Alfredsson lead a high powered Senators offense, and Chris Phillips heads the Senator defense.  Goalie Ryan Elliot had an efficient GAA (2.57) and will look to hold the Penguins offense in check.  For the Penguins, Marc-Andre Fleury will be the key.  He hasn’t always been the most consistent goaltender, but is very good when playing well.  If Fleury is inconsistent throughout the series, the advantage will be with Ottawa.  This series will be very entertaining and will be a tight series that could be won by either team.  My pick is Ottawa in 7. 

IN THE WEST:

1] San Jose Sharks beat 8] Colorado Avalanche in 7 games

This series could be very competitive even though it is 1 vs. 8.  The Sharks have been impressive this season, as they are most seasons, but the team has often struggled in recent playoffs.  The Avalanche only finished 18 points behind 1st place San Jose this season, and were inconsistent in their play.  However, in a seven game series, Colorado has the ability to hang with San Jose and potentially win the series.

2] Chicago Blackhawks beat 7] Nashville Predators in 5 games

Chicago, although a young team, has the most talent in the West.  Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Jonathon Teows, and Patrick Sharp highlight an explosive offense for the ‘Hawks.  Chicago should have no problem with Nashville in this opening round series.

3] Vancouver Canucks beat 6] Los Angeles Kings in 5 games

The Canucks have the severe advantage over the Kings at the goaltender spot.  Roberto Luongo is a top goalie in the league for the Canucks, but Jonathon Quick is a young, inexperienced goaltender for the Kings.  Luongo won a gold medal for Canada in the Olympics, and is very solid in net.  The Kings will have trouble scoring consistently against Luongo and the Canucks.  The Canucks, however, do not have offensive struggles.  Daniel and Henrik Sedin are a dynamic duo which is very dangerous.  In addition, key USA Olympian Ryan Kesler is a key which holds the Canucks together.  Vancouver will take care of the young LA Kings without much trouble.

5] Detroit Red Wings beat 4] Phoenix Coyotes in 6 games

Phoenix has been that “under-the-radar” team that no one has paid attention to this season.  Before anyone knew it, the Coyotes were fighting for the top spot in the West more than halfway through the season.  The Coyotes finished in the 4th spot in the West, but only 6 points between conference leading and Pacific Division rival San Jose.  However, the Red Wings’ experience and success down the stretch this season will power Detroit through to the next round.  Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holstrom highlight Detroit’s offense, and veteran Chris Osgood anchors the net for the Red Wings.  It will be an interesting series, but Detroit should win.

Stay tuned after the first round concludes for my second round picks.

USA Men’s Hockey Earns Silver

Today, the Men’s Hockey Olympic Gold Medal Game was played between the United States and rival Canada.  The US was the #1 seed entering the game, and the Canadians were the #6 seed.  The two teams had played earlier in the tournament during pool play, and the United States defeated the Canadians 5-3, in what would be Martin Brodeur’s final game in net for the Canadians.  After this game Brodeur was replaced by Roberto Luongo, and from this point onward the Canadians played their best hockey.

Canada’s road to the Finals included a 2nd place finish in Group A behind the United States, and wins over Germany, Russia, and Slovakia in the elimination round of the tournament.  The United States earned a bye in the first elimination round by going 3-0 in pool play and winning Group A outright.  The US then defeated Switzerland is a close-fought, 2-0 game, and then beat Finland is a 6-1 rout to advance to the Gold Medal Game.

The US team was led all tournament by goalie Ryan Miller, who was the best goalie in the Olympics.  In addition, Patrick Kane and Zack Parise were forces on the offensive side of the puck, while Ryan Suter and Brian Rafalski were great on defense all tournament.  The Canadians were led by the offensive firepower of players such as Sidney Crosby, Rick Nash, Jarome Iginla, and Jonathon Toews.  On defense the Canadians were led by Shea Weber and Dan Boyle, and the net was tended by Roberto Luongo.  A matchup of these stars, on this stage, with this rivalry was bound to be exciting.

The 1st period was a very back-and-forth affair, with attacks, counter-attacks, and subsequent counters to counter-attacks dominating the period.  Both teams had many opportunities to score and put continued pressure on one another.  In the latter stages of the 1st period, the United States won a faceoff in its own zone, but then turned the puck over due to both poor puckhandling by the United States defensemen and pressure on the puck by Mike Richards.  Richards then spun and shot the puck, at which point it bounced off Miller and right to Jonathan Teows with an open side pocket of the net, and he buried it.  Miller had no chance to make the save, as he was left out to dry by his defense.  The 1st period ended with the Canadians retaining a 1-0 lead. 

Early in the 2nd, Canada put another dagger into the hearts of Americans with a goal by Corey Perry after an unfriendly bounce off the stick of a US defender put Perry into perfect position to put the puck past Miller, who had no chance to stop it.  Then, at the 12:44 mark in the 2nd period, US forward Ryan Kesler tipped the puck in the air past Canadian goalie Roberto Luongo on a drive from Patrick Kane to cut the deficit to 2-1.  The score remained the same into the 3rd period.

The 3rd period was an extremely intense, hard-nosed, and frantic period of hockey as the United States used every possible avenue to tie the game.  The United States was kept scoreless in the 3rd by Roberto Luongo until do-everything-man for the US team Zack Parise scored on a losse puck in front of net with just under 25 seconds remaining in the game.  At this point the Canadian crowd let out a collective groan, as their pride and joy team would need to go to overtime to win a Gold Medal.

At the 7:40 mark of the extra period, the Canadian fans finally had reason to celebrate.  On a play in which the Americans had an opportunity to clear the puck, the Canadians were able to retrieve the puck and center it to Sidney Crosby, who beat Ryan Miller for the game winning goal, and the US was defeated 3-2 and lost the opportunity to win the Gold Medal.  This goal was maybe the first true goal that Ryan Miller let up that he should have saved.  However, it is impossible to put blame on Miller, for he played magnificantly the whole tournament, and was the biggest reason that the US even earned a medal.

There are many good things to take away from this Olympic tournament for American fans.  The team exceeded most expectations, as most fans did not even expect the team to earn a medal.  Most didn’t expect the team to earn a first-round bye.  Most didn’t expect the team to beat Canada in pool play and win Group A.  But the US team did all these things.  How did it do it?  There were 3 key elements that led to the success of the US team.  First, the goaltending of Ryan Miller was the catalyst that gave the players the motivation and confidence to play an aggressive, offensive style, as opposed to a defensive, protective style that would result from a less talented and not as sure-handed of a goaltender.  Miller was the best goalie in the Olympics, with a save percentage of .946 and a goal allowed average of 1.35.  Confidence in a goaltender allows a team to take more chances on offense without worrying as much about the consequences of counter attacks by the opposition, creating a more dynamic style of hockey and creating more scoring opportunities.  Second, the ability of players such as Zack Parise, Patrick Kane, and Brian Rafalski, among others, to win loose pucks and always work harder than other teams allowed the US to maximize its scoring opportunities and constantly keep pressure on the opposition.  Finally, the ability to win faceoffs gave the US the possessions and opportunites necessary to beat some teams that may have been more talented.  Ryan Kesler and Joe Pavelski were 2nd and 3rd in faceoff win percentage with 68.63% and 68.12%, respectively. 

Fans should be very optomistic about the future of USA hockey.  The team is very young, led by players such as Parise, Kane, and Miller.  In addition, these players have gained much needed and helpful experience for future Olympic games.  Finally, this young, inexperienced team won a Silver Medal!  As much as people were disappointed after the loss (believe me I was one of these people), it is important to realize that the effort of the players was unbelievable, and the country should appreciate what the players have done, exceeding expectations and adding a silver medal to the country’s medal count.  The entire Olympic Hockey Tournament was extremely exciting, and the future of USA hockey looks much brighter now than it did just 2 weeks ago.

Canadian Olympic Hockey Update

BREAKING NEWS:  Preliminary reports from the Canadian hockey team indicate that head coach Mike Babcock will start Roberto Luongo in the team’s first round game against Germany, and will sit Martin Brodeur for this game.  No decision has been made as of yet for future games.

USA Men’s Hockey Game 3

In the final game of pool play, the United States played rival Canada for what would likely decide who would get a bye in the medal round.  It was the most anticipated game for the United States hockey team in 4 years, and where was it broadcasted? MSNBC.  That’s right, MSNBC.  They broadcasted alpine skiing on NBC, and curling on CNBC, and the Penn State dorms are not equipped with MSNBC.  Needless to say, I was angered by this development.  Luckily enough, I was able to access the game online so I could watch and subsequently blog about the game.

The scoring started very quickly in the 1st period, as 3 goals were scored (2 US, 1 Canada) before the 10 minute mark.  Brian Rafalski led the scoring for the US with the first 2 goals, and Eric Staal scored the first goal for Canada.  The rest of the first period was scoreless and the US took a 2-1 lead and the momentum into the first intermission.

The Canadians tried to silence the US team’s momentum early in the 2nd period, when Dany Heatley scored at the 3:32 mark of the 2nd period.  Then, late in the period Chris Drury broke the tie to give the US a 3-2 lead into the 2nd intermission.  The US started the 3rd period scoring when Captain Jaime Langenbrunner scored a power play goal at 7:09 in the 3rd, and USA held this 2 goal lead deep into the 3rd period.  Only at the 16:51 mark in the 3rd period did the Canadians draw close, when Sidney Crosby scored a power play goal to cut the Canadian deficit to 4-3.  In the final minutes, the Canadians attacked the net in an effort to send the game to overtime.  However, after pulling goaltender Martin Brodeur, Ryan Kesler of the US team scored an unbelievable goal, probably the best empty net goal I have ever seen, to ice the game for the United States and to assure a bye. 

So what does this mean for the United States?  It means that along with Slovakia, Russia, and the winner of Sweden and Finland, which will be played at 12AM ET Monday morning, the United States will receive a bye into the next round.  The United States will likely earn the #1 seed, as long as either Sweden wins or Finland wins by 2 or less goals and scores 4 goals or less.  Either way, the US will have a great advantage going into the medal round.

There is one other issue that I would like to address.  People call me a homer for saying that Ryan Miller is the best goalie in the world.  I hear, “Brodeur is the best of all time, no one can be better than him right now.”  While that may be true, and Patrick Roy may have something to say about that, the point is that Ryan Miller is in his prime, and Brodeur is slightly past it.  Right now, Miller is playing better than Brodeur.  Miller stood on his head today, making many great, game-saving stops in net.  Miller’s 42 saves, as opposed to Brodeur’s 18, allowed the US team to withstand a 45-22 shot deficit and still win.  Therefore, on the biggest stage, the 2010 Winter Olympics, Ryan Miller showed himself to be the far superior goalie to Brodeur.  42 saves for Miller, 18 saves for Brodeur, a 2 goal win for the United States.  Doesn’t seem very biased to me to say that Miller is the better goalie.

USA Men’s Hockey Game 2

Today, the USA Men’s Hockey team played its 2nd game of the Olympics against Norway, who was coming off an embarrassing 8-0 loss to Canada 2 days prior.  The United States was 1-0 going into this game after beating Switzerland in the opener 3-1.  This game was thoroughly dominated by the United States, and the Norwegians had but one opportunity to get back into the game in the 2nd period, upon which the US team put the game away to assure a 2-0 start.

In the 1st period, the Americans asserted their dominance with goals by Phil Kessel and Chris Drury to take a 2-0 lead into the 1st intermission.  Early in the 2nd period, Patrick Kane added another goal to the US total, and the Norwegians looked to be out of contention to win.  However, the US showed an inability to get back on defense multiple times, and Norwegian Tore Vikingstad scored a shorthanded goal in which Norway established a 2-1 counter attack before beating Miller stick side high in the top corner.  The US showed its lack of chemistry and responsibility on the ice in a 5-10 minute stretch in the 2nd period, during which the Norwegian goal was scored.  Defenders were not getting back, players were turning the puck over at inopportune times, and without some tremendous goaltending by Ryan Miller, these mistakes could have cost the Americans the game.  However, as the game moved into the 3rd period, the US seemed to figure out most of its problems.  The team added 3 goals in a short stretch to ensure the win for the US.  With the win, the United States will set itself up for the bye-deciding game against Canada Sunday, given that Canada is not upset by Switzerland tonight. 

With a Canadian win tonight, both teams will post 2-0 records for the round robin final on Sunday at 7:40 ET.  The Canadians have a more talented team as a whole, but this game will be very important for both teams.  Canada will face one of its toughest tests of the Olympic tournament in the United States.  The US will play arguably the best team in the Olympics for a chance to earn a bye.  A victory for the US will take a tremendous performance by Ryan Miller in net, emphasis on puck control, and the ability to put away goals on the Canadian goaltender (most likely to be Brodeur but yet to be formally announced) when given the chance.  This game will be the first true marquee matchup of the Men’s Hockey tournament, and will be extremely exciting to watch in primetime on Sunday night.

Men’s Olympic Hockey Predictions

Tomorrow, the Men’s Olympic Hockey Competition will begin, and the NHL will take a 2 week leave to allow for its players to compete in the Olympics without missing any NHL action.  Always a fan favorite in the Winter Olympics, hockey will again be a very competitive, star-studded tournament with many talented nations vying for the gold medal.  It will take another “miracle-like” effort for the United States to win the gold this year, as the team will need to beat more talented nations en route to the title.  Below are my predictions of which nations will medal in this year’s Men’s Hockey competition.

Gold- Canada–This team is, in a word, stacked.  Absolutely stacked.  Canada has arguably the best goalie, Martin Brodeur, and arguably the best skill player, Sidney Crosby.  In addition, Canada has Patrice Bergeron, Ryan Getzlaf, Dany Heatley, Rick Nash, Scott Niedermeyer, Chris Pronger, Eric Staal, and Mike Richards.  Canada also has backup goalies Roberto Luongo and Marc-Andre Fleury, which are 2 of the best goalies in hockey.  Therefore, Canada is the most talented, deepest, and most explosive team in this year’s Olympics, and represent this year’s USSR of the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid.

Silver- Russia– Russia is also a very strong team, but is not well equipped to beat a team like Canada for the gold.  Russia arguably has a better offense than Canada, including the potential best player in hockey, Alexander Ovechkin, as well as stars Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovulchuk.  Also on the front line are Maxim Afinogenov, Pavel Datsyuk, Sergei Fedorov, Victor Kozlof, and Alexander Semin.  This crop of forwards is unmatched and unparalled in this year’s Olympics, but it is the defense and goaltending that will prevent Russia from winning the gold medal.  The defense is led by Sergei Gonchar and Dmitry Kalinin.  While there are a few good defenders, including these 2 players, the depth is lacking on defense for the Russians.  Goalies Ilya Bryzgalov, Evgeni Nabokov, and Semyon Varlamov are good goalies, but are not nearly up to par with the goalies of Canada or the United States.  Russia is a very good team that will be led by its offense, which will perform well enough to advance to the Olympic final.  However, the defense and goaltending will prevent the Russians from winning the gold. 

Bronze- United States- The Americans have a team this year that will pride itself upon its goaltending.  The team itself is not stellar on either the front line or the back line.  However, goaltender Ryan Miller, who has been a premier NHL goalie for the past few years, has established himself as a premier goalie in the world this season and has the capability to carry a slightly undermanned American team through the Olympics.  Although Miller has scuffled a bit as of late, he has the wherewithal to be a wall in net and carry this team with his talent and intelligence between the pipes.  The offense is led by veterans Chris Drury and Jamie Langenbrunner, as well as youngsters Ryan Callahan and Patrick Kane.  The defense is led by Brooks Orpik, Brian Rafalski, and Ryan Suter.  The United States is comprised of many solid players, without many true superstars, and will need consistent performances by the position players and dominant performance by Ryan Miller in net to win the bronze.

Other Potential Medal Winners:

Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic