My AHL team is better than your NHL team

The Pittsburgh Penguins enjoyed a rare lull in an otherwise cramped 2013-2014 season playing only one game in eight days, and the break could not have come at a better time for the battered team. While the Penguins are currently five points ahead of the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, they also lead the NHL with 289 man-games lost to injury heading into their game tonight against the Florida Panthers.

The most notable injury has been to goaltender Tomas Vokoun who has missed all forty-eight games to date with blood clots, and may be out for the remainder of the season. The Penguins acquired Vokoun on June 4, 2012 after they were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round for the second straight year. Vokoun finished the 2012-2013 season with a 0.917 save percentage and a 2.55 goals against average; however, he really shined in the playoffs, taking over from Marc Andre Fleury in game 5 of the first round against the New York Islanders and finishing with 0.928 save percentage and a 2.01 goals against average. In Vokoun's absence, the Penguins have been relying more heavily on Fleury and have been using Jeff Zatkoff from the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins as their back up. Zatkoff has been playing well this season with seven victories in ten games. He is currently on pace for seventeen games this season, but the big test for him may come during the post-season. Fleury has had fairly epic collapses the last three playoff series' and last season the Penguins were able to ride Vokoun to the Conference Final; if Fleury is once again unable to perform in the playoffs, and they don't get Vokoun back from injury or acquire a new goaltender at the trade deadline, the pressure and responsibility might fall to Zatkoff, a heavy burden for the rookie netminder.

The Penguins blue line also took a fairly significant beating this season when their top four defensemen were out, all at roughly the same time.

The Penguins had a busy off-season last year re-signing Kris Letang to an eight year deal and bringing Rob Scuderi back as an unrestricted free agent for four years. The plan was to play these two defencemen together, with Kris Letang playing a more offensive role and jumping up into the play, while Scuderi would play more of a stay at home defensive role. Unfortunately, due to injuries, the Penguins have been unable to use this combination very often this season. Letang missed the first nine games of the season, making his debut on October 25 in a 4-3 loss to the Islanders. Luck was not on their side though as Scuderi was injured the following day in a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Scuderi would miss twenty-nine games and make his return on December 29 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In the meantime, Kris Letang went down with another injury on December 13 and would miss ten games, making his second return to the lineup on January 5 against the Winnipeg Jets. Tonight, for just the eighth time in forty-nine games, coach Dan Bylsma will be able to play Scuderi and Letang as his top defensive pairing.

Veterans Brooks Orpik and Paul Martin form the Penguins second defensive pairing, and are our next discussion for injuries. After a disappointing performance in the 2011-2012 season, Paul Martin rebounded and, over the course of the last two seasons, has become one of the Penguins top offensive defenseman, earning time on the top power play unit. Martin suffered a fractured tibia in a 3-2 overtime loss to Boston on November 25, 2013. Martin has not played since the injury, though he has practiced with the team during this eight day break, and may be set to return to the lineup tonight against Florida. Orpik, the team’s best hard-hitting shutdown defencemen, was injured in a controversial 3-2 loss to Boston on December 7 when Shawn Thornton grabbed him from behind, threw him to the ice and punched him in the head. Orpik was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a concussion; he was released later that evening and traveled back to Pittsburgh with his teammates. Orpik returned to the lineup twenty days later on December 27 for a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. With Martin still out of the lineup, Orpik has often been paired with either Simon Despres or Robert Bortuzzo, two young defencemen who have been splitting their time this season between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre Scranton.

The Penguins have been able to survive the injuries to their blue line in large part because of the consistent play of both Matt Niskanen and Olli Maatta, the team’s third defensive pairing. Niskanen was traded to the Penguins in 2011, along with fellow Dallas Stars teammate James Neal. He was plagued with trade rumors at the start of the season, but, with injuries to many of his teammates, his ice time and responsibilities have increased and he is on pace for a career high with forty-two points this season. For the better part of December Niskanen was the Penguins most veteran defenceman with 458 NHL games; however, the Penguins experienced quite the scare on December 21 when he was absent from the bench for long periods of time. During his absence, Simon Despres became the most senior defenceman on the ice with sixty-three NHL games under his belt. Despite their inexperience on defence, the Penguins were able to squeak by with a 4-3 win over Calgary.

No one better exemplifies the Penguins depth at defence than nineteen year old Ollie Maatta. The defenceman was drafted twenty second overall in 2012 and is playing in his first NHL season. He is currently ranked sixth among rookie defencemen with sixteen points on the year and is second with a +8 rating after forty-seven games. The young defenceman was not expected to stay on with the Penguins this season, but his poise and patience with the puck have made him an invaluable addition to the team. He once again proved his value on January 15 when he scored the game winning goal in the dying minutes of a hard fought battle against division rivals the Washington Capitals. He finished the night with as a +2, with three shots, a goal, an assist, and praise from his teammates for yet another strong performance.

With injuries to their key blue-liners, the Penguins have had to recall four defencemen from Wilkes-Barre Scranton so far this season, with two of these players, Brian Dumoulin and Philip Samuelsson, making their NHL debuts. What is particularly impressive about all this is that, despite their inexperience on the blue line, the Penguins have only allowed five or more goals against four times this season, winning two of those games 6-5, and have only lost by three or more goals five times this season. They are also currently in sixth place averaging 27.7 shots against per game, proving that, more often than not, they have been winning because of smart, tight, defensive play and not because Marc Andre Fleury has standing on his head and bailing them out.

Many of you are probably saying that of course the Penguins have been winning this season, they have players like Sidney Crosby, James Neal, Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz, and, with that much skill up front, you are expected to win almost every night; however, the Penguins offense hasn’t been immune to the injury bug.

The Penguins top line took a beating on December 23 in a 5-0 loss to the Senators when Pascal Dupuis injured his ACL on a hit from defenceman Mark Methot. With surgery scheduled for February 12, Dupuis is expected to miss the remainder of the season, leaving the Penguins with a hole to fill on Crosby’s right wing.

The second line hasn’t fared any better with injuries to Neal, Malkin and, second year player, Beau Bennett. Not counting his five-game suspension, Neal has missed sixteen games this season due to injury, including the most recent game against the Capitals, while Malkin missed eleven with a lower body injury sustained during the 4-1 win against Detroit on December 14. The most notable absence to the second line is winger Beau Bennett, who will be missing his thirty-seventh game tonight. Bennett missed the first eleven games of the season with a lower body injury, before a broken wrist, sustained during the 4-3 win over the Islanders sidelined him for eight to ten weeks. Bennett has not yet returned to the lineup, though he has resumed skating with strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar. Bennett is expected to replace the injured Pascal Dupuis when he makes his return to the lineup.

With injuries to character players like Chuck Kobasew and Tanner Glass, Jussi Jokinen moving up to the second line, and the acquisition of Taylor Pyatt from the New York Rangers, Brandon Sutter, centre for the Penguins third line, has had a constant rotation of wingers so far this season. Sutter has battled through and, despite the constant change in his wingers, he has been quite productive this season with seventeen points in forty-eight games.

The injuries to the Penguins top three lines means they have recalled seven players from Wilkes-Barre Scranton so far this season, five of whom were making their NHL debuts. These players are expected to be versatile, sometimes playing on the third or fourth lines with minimal minutes, and other times playing on the top lines with Crosby and Malkin. The injury bug was not done yet though and skilled players Jason Megna and Brian Gibbons, who had been recalled from Wilkes-Barre Scranton to replace injured players, have also been sidelined with injuries. This meant that on January 15, when the Penguins faced off against the Washington Capitals, forwards Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond and Nick Drazenovic became the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth players to dress for the Penguins so far this season.

While is it undeniable that the Penguins have talent in their lineup, this season has demonstrated, more so than ever before, that this talent exists throughout the entire organization, from the AHL to the NHL and in a busy, injury filled season, with a two week Olympic break, this depth will likely be more important than ever before. We may never know why the “Baby Penguins” in Wilkes-Barre have been so successful when they have been called up to the big leagues, but one thing we do know, even with half their roster injured, even when they are missing their top four defenseman, the Penguins are a force to be reckoned with in the NHL, proving that our AHL palyers are often better than most in the NHL.  

UPDATE: I realize this post was very poorly timed as the Penguins lost 5-1 to the Florida Panthers, but one bad game after a four day break, with a slew of players returning to the lineup, does not change the fact that up until now the Penguins had been playing well and winning games. 

With the Team Canada roster now set, the fun and analysis really begins...

At approximately 11:20 AM on one week ago today, the Team Canada brain trust gathered together at the MasterCard Centre in Etobicoke, Ontario to announce their roster for the upcoming Olympics in Sochi. At approximately 11:21 AM, the rest of Canada gathered together to express their outrage over which players had been snubbed by the group. While I am not necessarily "outraged", I am surprised by some of the choices, shocked by a few of the omissions, and more curious than ever to see how this team will compete in Russia.

The three goaltenders representing Team Canada in Sochi are Carey Price, Roberto Luongo and Mike Smith. These three were the obvious choices for many hockey analysts despite the fact that neither of the three has won a Stanley Cup or the Vezina trophy. While all three are elite goaltenders in the NHL, this does point to one area of the game where Canadians seem to be weaker than our opponents; there is no shortage of elite goal scorers and defencemen in Canada, but, the closer Martin Brodeur gets to retirement, the more obvious it is becoming that Canada no longer has a standout number one goaltender.

Marc Andre Fleury of the Pittsburgh Penguins is probably the most notable omission for this category. He is once again leading the NHL in wins with 26 on the season, is ranked 11th with a 2.24 goals against average, won the Stanley Cup in 2009 with Pittsburgh and was the third goaltender at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. "Flower", as he is affectionately called by his teammates, is still considered by many to be an elite goaltender during the regular season;  however, spotty performances in the playoffs the last three seasons have caused many to question his ability to handle the pressure of being between the pipes. It is likely that Fleury will continue to be overlooked on the international scene until he once again proves that he can be successful in the postseason.

The eight defenceman named to the team are Duncan Keith, Drew Doughty, Shea Weber, Jay Bowmeester, Dan Hamhuis, Alex Pietrangelo, P.K. Subban and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Duncan Keith is probably the strongest defenceman of the group: he has two Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks and won the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2010. At the Vancouver Olympics, Babcock paired Keith with Drew Doughty, and, with fellow Blackhawk Brent Seabrook not on the roster, many have speculated that he will once again go with this matchup in Sochi. These two will likely be paired against the other team’s top line and are expected to be among the highest ranked players for Time on Ice (TOI).

The most contentious choice for team Canada was the current winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy, P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens. While he is known for his offensive abilities on the power play, defensive lapses in his own zone were cause for concern among many of the Team Canada brass given the larger ice surface, which is usually less forgiving for defencemen.

The two most notable omissions from the roster are Brent Seabrook of the Chicago Blackhawks and Dan Boyle of the San Jose Sharks. Both played in Vancouver in 2010, and Brent Seabrook has developed excellent chemistry with Duncan Keith in Chicago. These two left shooters were left off the roster in favour of the right shooting Dan Hamhuis of the Vancouver Canucks and Marc-Edouard of the San Jose Sharks. From the beginning, Babcock has stated that he would prefer to take four right shooting defencemen and four left shooting defencemen, a choice that has unfortunately left Seabrook and Boyle looking in from the outside.

Canada seems to have an unlimited selection when it comes to talented, offensively gifted forwards. In fact since the 2005 draft, six of the first overall selections have been Canadian, and, every one of them was a forward. The fourteen forwards named to Team Canada are Sidney Crosby, Patrick Marleau, Rick Nash, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Patrice Bergeron, Jonathan Toews, Jamie Benn, Jeff Carter, Matt Duchene, Chris Kunitz, Patrick Sharp, Steven Stamkos and John Tavares. These players combine for an impressive eleven Stanley Cups, seventeen individual NHL awards, and five are current captains while two are former captains. It is a group that can score and that knows how to win, but, most importantly, they are young, fast, skilled players, something Canada was missing in 2006 in Turin Italy, the last time the Olympics were played on the larger international sized ice.

I was probably the most surprised by the choice to include Rick Nash on the roster. In 2010, Nash played on the third line with Mike Richards and Jonathan Toews and excelled as a hard hitting, shutdown forward. At 6ft 4in and 218lbs, Nash can be a tough opponent, he plays well in the corner and difficult areas of the ice and, with his long reach and strength, he can be hard to knock off the puck. That being said, Nash is not having a good season offensively with only twenty points in thirty games, and I am not sure his hard hitting style will be as effective on the larger international ice surface as it was in Vancouver on an NHL-sized arena.

The two most surprising omissions for me were Martin St. Louis, Captain of the Tampa Bay Lightning and James Neal of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
 
Martin St. Louis currently plays right wing for the Tampa Bay Lightning under General Manager and Executive Director of Team Canada, Steve Yzerman, and, at thirty-eight years of age, this is likely the last opportunity for St. Louis to represent his country in the Olympics. While none of this is enough to offer him a roster spot on the team, St. Louis made history last season when, at the age of thirty-seven, he became the oldest player to win the Art Ross Trophy, which is awarded to the National Hockey League player who leads the league in scoring at the end of the regular season. St. Louis is once again leading the Lightning in scoring with forty-three points in forty-six games this season and, when Stamkos got injured in early November, St. Louis became a steadying presence for his team helping them to a 15-10-4 record. All that, combined with the fact that St. Louis is still considered by many to be one of the best play makers in the league, makes you wonder what more he would have to do to be named to the roster.

James Neal is an offensive threat every time he is on the ice, he has one of the most precise shots in the NHL, and his quick release is stuff of nightmares for goaltenders. Many have assumed that Neal is first line to replace Steven Stamkos should he not be available at the Olympics since they both have similar playing styles and are both considered snipers in the NHL. It has also been assumed that, at least at the start of the tournament, Stamkos will play on the top line with Pittsburgh Penguins' Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz, a role that Neal could certainly fill should Stamkos not be ready in time. While I am disappointed that Neal wasn't selected for Team Canada, Canada just has too many young, talented forwards available at their disposal. Most countries would love to invite a player of his caliber to the Olympics but, unfortunately for Neal, in Canada, players with his skill are a dime a dozen.

Now that the Team Canada roster has been announced, how does it compare to my roster you ask?

The main difference is that I listed a 23-man roster, whereas Team Canada selected 25 players to participate in the Sochi Olympics. In place of Rick Nash, I had forward Mike Richards on my roster as the aggressive hard hitting forward. I also chose Tyler Seguin and Jordan Eberle over forwards Steven Stamkos, Patrick Marleau and Matt Duchene. At defence, I had Brent Seabrook and Dan Boyle in place of Jay Bowmeester, Dan Hamhuis and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, though as I mentioned earlier, had Canada not been as particular about right and left shots, it is likely Seabrook and/or Boyle would be on the roster.  Like many other analysts I had Carey Price and Roberto Luongo as my first two goaltenders, but I decided to go with the long shot Josh Harding because I am a sucker for feel good stories and I wanted to give him a chance to compete on the international stage despite having Multiple Sclerosis.

While I might not have gotten my feel good story with Harding, I certainly did with forward Chris Kunitz. Kunitz was never scouted for major junior hockey, never given the opportunity to represent his country in World Junior tournament over Christmas and was not drafted to the NHL. Instead he played Junior A hockey in his hometown of Saskatchewan and played collegiate hockey at Ferris State University. On April 1, 2003 Kunitz’s dreams were finally realized when he signed with the Anaheim Ducks as a free agent. He would eventually win a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007, and in 2009 was traded to Pittsburgh where he would win another Cup that same year. It was in Pittsburgh that Kunitz finally found his hockey feet and, for the better part of four seasons, he has been playing on the Penguins top line with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Now, at thirty-four years of age, Kunitz, who is relatively unknown on the international scene, is being given the honour to represent his country in Sochi. Many have questioned Kunitz’s place on the team, but I can’t help but cheer for someone who has continued to smile while everyone questioned his abilities at hockey, and who has never stopped working to get to where he is today.

On February 13, the puck drops for Canada as they face Norway in Sochi. This means that we have thirty days to analyze line combinations, to discuss healthy scratches, and to figure out who should replace injured players, as we get ready to gather together as one nation and watch our boys defend their gold medal.

Sochi Olympics: Here's my roster for Team Canada, what's yours?

Team Canada is set to announce their roster for the Sochi Olympics on Tuesday morning so my friend and coworker Eric has challenged me to set my own roster to see how it compares.

As a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, my fine line is obviously the combination of Chris Kunitz, Sidney Crosby and James Neal. Coach Dan Bylsma has been pairing these three together recently and offensively they have produced a hat trick, a late game tying goal and beautiful highlight reel plays. In fact they account for approximately 44% of the Penguins goals this season. There is so much talent on this line, and so many scoring opportunities, they would be hard to maintain and control. They could also form part of the Team Canada's top power play unit.

My second line includes teammates, and Olympic returnees, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf alongside New York Islanders captain John Tavares. Perry and Getzlaf are currently linemates on the Anaheim Ducks' top line and have combined for 42 goals in 43 games so far this season. Tavares, known for his speed and high end skill, is currently 5th in scoring with 46 points in 42 games. He also helped Team Canada win the Spengler Cup during the lockout last year, giving him experience on the international sized ice. This line would give Canada a one two punch offensively, making match-ups challenging for the opposing teams.

My third line consists of the more defensively minded players Jonathan Toews and Mike Richards, along with Richards LA Kings teammate Jeff Carter. Both Richards and Toews played on Team Canada's third line in Vancouver and thrived on the defensive checking style of play. These two will also likely play large roles on Team Canada's penalty kill, and both have excellent face-off percentages. I have added Jeff Carter to this line so that he can be an offensive threat, allowing for Canada to have scoring contributions from every line. Carter and Richards have also played alongside one another for years, first in Philadelphia and more recently in Los Angeles; their chemistry is undeniable and they are often able to find one another on the ice.

The fourth line again sees teammates playing together with Tyler Seguin centering Jamie Benn and Edmonton Oiler Jordan Eberle. Neither Benn nor Seguin was invited to the training camp this summer, though I think both have played their way into the conversation and onto the team. Following a tough loss in game 6 of the Stanley cup finals last season and unexpected trade to Dallas during the summer, Seguin has flourished and is having a career year. He has been placed back at centre and is producing in almost every game this season. Seguin also played for team Canada last year in the Spengler Cup, and led his Swiss team EHC Biel in scoring during the lockout. The larger ice surface favours Seguin's quick hands and speed. No one has benefited more from Seguin's rebound season than Jamie Benn, his linemate in Dallas. Benn is exceedingly talented and, with 36 points in 41 games, he definitely has a scoring touch; however, Benn is also a character player who is not afraid to drop the gloves to defend himself or his teammates. Teams that win, usually do so on the backs of these types of players. Even though he currently has an injured knee, Eberle is on my team because he is Captain Clutch when it comes to Team Canada. During his world junior career, Eberle was known for scoring big goals in big moments, and he was one of the main contributors when Canada won gold in 2009 and silver in 2010.

My thirteenth forward is Patrice Bergeron. While Team Canada is already deep with centres in my roster, Bergeron is one of the best defensive forwards in the game. He can provide Canada with important face-off wins and play a huge part of the team's penalty kill.

Like many fans, I tend to focus more on goal scoring than defensive play, so I have less knowledge when it comes to Canada's top defensemen. My top four defensemen are all returnees from the Vancouver Olympics, Shea Weber, Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. These four have a combined 5 Stanley Cups since 2010 and all play huge minutes for their NHL teams. In 2010, Keith and Doughty developed good chemistry playing together, though I currently have Doughty playing with Weber and Keith playing with this usual defensive partner and fellow Blackhawk Brent Seabrook.

The next three defensemen on my roster are PK Subban, Alex Pietrangelo and Dan Boyle. With his precise one-timer, I would use Subban mainly as the quarterback on the team's power play, but he is also a tough player who can easily get under the skin of his opponents. He is type of player teams love to hate, who can rally his teammates and bring energy to the rink. I will confess I don't know very much about Pietrangelo, but I selected him since he plays for one of the most defensive teams in the league and is currently coached by Ken Hitchcock, one of Team Canada's assistant coaches in Sochi. Dan Boyle will likely slot in as my 7th defenseman, at least at first, but he brings leadership and experience to the team and will be an invaluable teacher to the younger Subban and Pietrangelo.

I have stayed with the popular choices for my top two goalies and chosen Carey Price and Roberto Luongo. With Luongo coming off an injury recently, and Price playing well for the Canadiens, I would slot Price in as the number 1, but give both an opportunity in net during the round robin portion of the tournament. I have strayed from popular choice with my third selection and chosen Minnesota Wild goaltender Josh Harding. He has a league leading 1.65 goals against average and is currently 8th with 18 wins on the season, but the main reason I have chosen him is because I am a bit of a sucker for happy endings. Harding was recently diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and, while most would have stopped playing professional sports, he pushed through and went on to win the Bill Masterton Trophy last season as the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication. Being given the opportunity to play for Canada, and to win gold in Sochi, is the icing on the cake, and I just can't resist the feel good storybook ending that would be for Harding.

Penguins fans might be surprised that I did not select Marc Andre Fleury as one of my goaltenders, and I did so rather selfishly. My faith in Fleury has never waivered, and while I think he could handle the pressures of playing in Sochi and give Canada an excellent chance to win, he has shouldered a heavy workload this season for the Penguins and I think a two week break will help the netminder relax and get ready to take on the second half of the season and, hopefully, another deep playoff run.

I have now outlined my roster, how does it compare to yours? I can't wait to see how it compares to that of the Team Canada brass on Tuesday, and then to cheer on the Team in Russia in February.

Team Canada: WIN or GO HOME

New Year's Eve and it was the match up everyone had been waiting for: Canada versus the United States in the World Juniors tournament to determine the winner in Group A. While the United States had dominated every game they had played, Canada's road to through the preliminaries had been anything but easy. 

Canada has surrendered the first goal in every game, including all three preseason games, though it didn't affect their play against the Germans on Boxing Day. After giving up a goal early on Canada bounced back to take a 9-2 victory and keep themselves 12-0 against the German team. 

The Czech Republic gave the Canadians all they could handle in an exciting back and forth game. The Canadians trailed four times throughout the game, but showed heart and bounced back to tie it each time, never going down by more than one goal. Unfortunately it wasn't enough and Canada lost in a heartbreaking shootout 5-4, losing to the Czech Republic for the first time since 1993. 

Canadians held their breath two days later anxious to see how the young team would respond to the loss when they faced Slovakia. At first, it didn't look good. Jonathan Drouin, alternate captain, and the only returning player on the ice for the Canadian team took a penalty for a high hit just seconds into the game. IIHF rules dictate that a 10 minute misconduct be assessed for high hits, in addition to the two minute minor, so early on Canada was down a man. It didn't take long for the Slovaks to convert and yet again Canada trailed 1-0 in the first. Discipline continued to be a problem for team Canada with all three of the Slovaks goals coming on the man advantage. For the second year in a row Canada found themselves trailing the Slovaks 3-1 late in the second. The young team never gave up and they were able to pull out a character win, tying it late the third and converting a few minutes later on the man advantage for the go ahead goal. It was the first time Canada had held a lead since their win over Germany. It wasn't pretty, but the gritty, hardworking win, would give the team something to build on. 

And so it was, on the last day of 2013, Canada and the United States faced off, and with a regulation win Canada would finish on top in their division. The Canadian goaltender, Montreal Canadiens prospect, Zachary Fucale faced 13 shots in the first period, and with some acrobatic saves, was able to keep it 0-0 after one. The United States broke the shutout early in the second; however, our boys persisted and in the third, it was Canada who held a 3-1 lead over the United States. The United States would get to within one, but they were unable to get a third past Fucale, whose most impressive save came late in the third on a shorthanded breakaway. Fucale was the Canadians most dominant player, and as he received his player of the game award, the FU-CA-LE chants filled the building. 

The win on New Years Eve means that Canada now faces Switzerland in the quarter finals, and while the matchup is advantageous for the Canadians, a loss would send our boys home for the second straight year without a medal. They will need to bring it all to every game from here on out and leave it all on the ice. 

The good news is that Canada has a storied history of players stepping up in this tournament when it counts. Whether we're talking about John Tavares getting the hattrick on New Years Eve against the United States in a comeback win in 2008, or Jordan Eberle scoring with 5.4 seconds left against Russia in the Semi Final to tie the game, and then scoring the shootout winner to take Canada to the gold medal game in 2009. Who can forget Jonathan Toews' hattrick in the shootout in 2007 against the United States in the semi finals, or Carey Price's dominating performance in net at the same tournament. 

While only time will tell whether Fucale will become the next Carey Price, or whether Anthony Mantha, who currently leads Team Canada in scoring, will become a household name in the NHL, one thing is for certain, big games and big moments make big players. This Canadian team has played every game with heart, and has never given up. They have trailed and bounced back, they been able to hold a lead late in the game, they have come together as one unit, and as long they give "110%" I will be cheering until the end, which, with any luck, will be Sunday January 5 for the gold medal.