O Happy Day! Canada advances to semifinals, eliminates Russia

A flood of different emotions coursed through hockey fans coast to coast this morning, awaiting the Canada – Russia showdown in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Olympic men’s hockey tournament.  Anticipation, hope, hatred and love, all mixing, simmering and percolating in all of us, anxious for the start of one of the most longed-for hockey games in recent memory.

Anticipation of a rematch with Russia who eliminated Canada 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the last Olympics.  Hope that the somewhat willy-nilly changes to line combinations by the Canadian coaching staff would finally produce a consistently cohesive, winning combination against a competitive opponent.  Hope that Canada’s best hockey was still ahead and all the self-loathing that some Canadian fans put themselves through after last Sunday’s loss to the U.S. would be rendered groundless.  Hatred, definitely for Alexander “Drago” Ovechkin, and for one day, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar, normally viewed as beloved members of the Penguins by this writer, but today, enemies.  Love, for country, and love for Canadian hockey, the common lifeblood that courses through the nation.

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Would Sidney Crosby and/or Ovechkin raise their game to even higher heights on the highest of all stages??  Would the bold decision by Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock to reinstate Roberto Luongo as the starting goaltender be the right move?  Would a lesser light like Patrice Bergeron or Danis Zaripov emerge as a difference-maker?  Would a late tie-breaking goal by a latter-day Paul Henderson or Mario Lemieux move this game into the pantheon of classic Canada - Russia contests?

As it turned out, the game was anticlimactic: Canada surprisingly blew away Russia 7-3, advancing to the semifinals on Friday night at 9:30 pm EST / 6:30 pm PST to face either Sweden or Slovakia.  The win ended an eight-game Olympic losing streak by Canada to Russia/Unified Team/U.S.S.R. that began at the 1964 Games in Innsbruck, Austria.  Canada came out guns blazing, opening the scoring at 2:21 of the first period courtesy of Ryan Getzlaf converting a quick centering feed from a pinching Dan Boyle.  In classic Canadian style, the hosts aggressively bodychecked and fired shot after shot on goal to test Evgeni Nabokov and soon discovered little resistance in Russia’s defence and neutral zone puck control.  In the first period alone, Canada recorded a whopping 21 shots on goal and a game total of 42, pumping their tournament lead in that category to 215.

Boyle on a power play, and Rick Nash scored 46 seconds apart mid-way through the opening frame to suddenly give Canada an unexpected 3-0 lead.  Nash’s goal came on a 2-on-1 that was simply the result of outhustling the Russian defence.  Mike Richards made an outlet pass to Jonathan Toews and skated hard in tandem with Nash who finished the play by firing the puck over a sprawling Nabokov.  After Dmitri Kalinin cut the lead to 3-1 with a shot from the top of the left circle, Brenden Morrow took the wind out of the Russian sails with a late goal on a backhander that he somehow stuffed past Nabokov, who appeared to have the area inside the left post sealed off.

Early in the second period, Corey Perry found a wide-open net off a rebound for his third goal of the tournament and 57 seconds later, the rout was on.  As two Russians were preoccupied with pinning Jarome Iginla to the boards by the benches, Jonathan Toews picked out the puck from their skates and headed into the offensive zone.  He found Shea Weber with a pass and the Nashville defenceman pounded the puck by Nabokov.  6-1 Canada.  Nabokov, out; Ilya Bryzgalov, in.

Though Maxim Afinogenov and Sergei Gonchar later scored, sandwiched around a second goal by Corey Perry, it was far too little too late.  In a microcosm of the tough night he would experience, Ovechkin was checked hard into the half-boards and knocked off the puck by young Canadian defenceman Drew Doughty about eight and a half minutes into the first period.  Neither Ovechkin nor Crosby recorded a point on the night.  Even though Crosby was held off the scoresheet, he was, as always, an influential presence on the ice.  His speed drew a holding call against Anton Volchenkov in the first period giving Canada its first power play, a man advantage situation in which he had a scoring chance.

Crosby nearly set up Jarome Iginla for yet another goal in the third period when his pass from the far circle was deflected by his fellow assistant captain off the left post.  As for Luongo, the “hometown” goalie vindicated his coach’s choice by turing aside 26 of 28 shots against the first upper-tier opponent he has faced at the Olympics.  Luongo has quietly posted a 1.67 GAA, fourth-best among goaltenders with at least three games played.  He induced the loudest “Luuuuuuuu!” cheer from the Canada Hockey Place crowd with under five minutes left in the game when he stoned Evgeni Malkin on a breakaway.

After a triumph like this, is the proper emotion pure joy?  Or is it relief?  Probably a bit of both.

Canada’s reward is just one full day of rest before the battle begins again on Friday night.