2010 Winter Olympics: Canada vs. Norway Highlights and Analysis

Mark RitterFeb 16, 2010

Four years after finishing an embarrassing seventh in Turin, Canada's Men's Olympic Hockey Team started on its journey toward redemption in front of a capacity crowd—and the legend himself, Wayne Gretzky, in attendance for the game in Vancouver.

With the crowd decked out in a sea of red and white and the benefit of having Vancouver’s golden boy, Roberto Luongo, between the pipes, Canada looked poised to demolish a virtually unknown Norwegian squad that primarily features players from the German, Swedish, and Russian Leagues.

Given Canada’s stacked lineup, it is easy to understand why expectations are so high. That said, the Norwegian team has the benefit of familiarity—something Canada will have to try to develop as the Olympic tournament goes on.

It is this familiarity, combined with a defense-first hockey system that much resembles the dreaded “trap," that gave Norway a chance against Canada early on.

During the first period, Canada attempted to stretch the Norwegian squad by attempting numerous 20-foot passes. On more occasions than not, the puck got through the neutral zone untouched, resulting in an icing call against Canada—hardly the result they were looking for.

As expected, Canada’s coaching staff rolled out four lines, doing its best to get every player involved in the game. Mike Babcock, Canada’s head coach, wanted his players to get acquainted quickly—and there is no better way to do this than by rolling four lines.

Canada pasted Norway with 14 shots, and if not for the solid play of Norwegian goaltender Pal Grontes, Canada would likely have lit the lamp at least twice—especially a chance that saw Sidney Crosby thwarted by Grontes' glove hand late in the first period.

Despite Canada’s inability to score in the first period, you suspected they were just getting started.

Cue the second period...

Canada came out strong, seemingly playing with much more determination and speed than they demonstrated in the opening 20 minutes of play.

With Norway once again in the penalty box, Canada finally took advantage when Jarome Iginla opened the scoring for Canada on the power play—hammering a blistering one-timer past Grontes for a 1-0 lead.

The goal would lift the weight of the world off the Canadians' backs, as it was just a matter of time before the crowd was going to get impatient with the all-star-calibre squad.

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Instead, the Canucks heard deafening cheers from the crowd—a noise they hope to hear often in Vancouver.

The crowd would get ignited once again when Dany Heatley got his stick on Chris Pronger’s point shot to give Canada a two-goal lead—and a ton of confidence to boot.

After killing off a 48-second two-man advantage, Canada stormed down the ice and into the Norwegian zone, eventually resulting in Philadelphia Flyers Captain Mike Richards jamming the puck past the overworked Norwegian goalie: 3-0 Canada.

Canada continually got the puck deep throughout the third period, and unlike the first period, it was able to keep the puck away from Norway’s defensemen. This naturally stopped the Norwegians from dumping the puck back into the Canadian zone.

Canada’s penalty kill did a good job of stopping the Norwegians late in the third period, protecting its 3-0 lead, which put the team in pristine position heading into the third period.

It was very apparent that Canada had found its legs.

Canada outshot Norway 16-6 in the period, getting nine points from nine different players. Richards and Drew Doughty, two players that many expected to see limited action in tonight’s tilt—if not the entire tournament—played huge roles in Canada’s early success.

The third period saw Crosby take an early penalty for roughing—something Babcock was noticeably annoyed with. Luongo made a huge pad save when a Norwegian player was left unattended right in front of the net—if that play is against the Russians, it’s in the back of the net. Canada will need to be better in that regard.

Canada stormed down into the Norwegian zone soon after the Norwegian power play ended and quickly established itself down low, which led to Canada’s fourth goal. Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf, who almost didn’t make the trip to Vancouver because of an ankle injury, slid the puck past Grontes at the side of the net.

Norway made a goaltender change, electing to bring in Andre Lysenstaen, who stands 6’4” and weighs in at an alarming 245 pounds—what a beast!

Norway would get another penalty soon after the goaltending change, which would result in Canada scoring its fifth goal when Heatley ripped a shot past Lysenstaen from atop the face-off circle.

Dan Boyle, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Heatley—all of whom play for the San Jose Sharks—were on the ice at the time of the goal, demonstrating the importance of bringing players who are familiar with one another to the games.

Rick Nash, Crosby, and Iginla would play a little tic-tac-toe shortly thereafter, ending with a beautiful goal by Iginla—his second of the game. The chemistry of this line is alive and well—don’t be surprised if it is kept together for the remainder of the Olympics.

Canada would score again when Corey Perry finished off a beautiful end-to-end rush by the Canadians. Eric Staal shot the puck at the net a moment earlier, which just narrowly missed crossing the line. Fortunately for Canada, though, Perry was in position to bury the puck for the goal.

Iginla completed the hat trick late in the third when he tipped a shot from Nash past the Norwegian goaltender—and with that goal, Canada went up 8-0. It was at that point that the fat lady began to sing.

Overall, Team Canada should be proud of its effort. Despite its early struggles, the team played hard, skated well, took the body, and took advantage of the power play opportunities it was given.

The San Jose trio of Heatley, Marleau, and Thornton was dominant, as was the line of Iginla, Crosby, and Nash. Look for Babcock to exploit their early chemistry throughout this tournament, as these two lines looked dynamite.

With confidence high, Canada now turns their sights toward Switzerland this Thursday night—a team that should give Canada a tougher test. They proved to be a formidable foe earlier in the day, losing a close contest to the highly favored American squad, 3-1.

For the record, the crowd was boisterous and on point and looks to be a factor at these games.