The two best hockey teams in the world just fought for the gold medal. The second best team was missing their top three centers so some of the luster of the game was gone before it started. Thus, Canada won.
Good for Canada, I guess. I checked out after Team USA lost to Canada. You know, at the same time they checked out.
Jonathan Toews and Sidney Crosby both predictably scored goals for Canada. The shots were pretty close for most of the game, but Canada had a significantly higher percentage of quality scoring chances than Sweden. They were clearly the alpha males from the get go. Even Chris Kunitz scored.
Jamie Benn continued to look good, and escaped the tournament healthy. He helped kill a late key penalty to keep the score 3-0. You would think Benn just entered the league with the way most of the announcing crews spoke of him. He was the breakout star of the tournament even though we already knew how good he is. It had to be a great two weeks for Jamie.
The Olympics are finally over. The closing ceremonies of the Sochi games are tonight. The tournament couldn’t end soon enough for those of us that suffered through the last two American efforts. What started out as a promising tournament with three large American victories ended with a thud as Canada outplayed Sweden all game. These last two weeks made me long for some NHL hockey.
Thankfully, NHL business resumes tonight. The Olympic trade freeze will end at midnight. The Dallas Stars reconvene Thursday when they host the Carolina Hurricanes. The trade deadline is next Wednesday, March 5th, In case you forgot, the Stars sit in 8th place in the Western Conference.
Benn and Kari Lehtonen have a few days left to celebrate their medals, but the next time they play a real hockey game they will be wearing that sweet sweet victory green trying to push the Stars back to the playoffs. My body is ready.