T-Ruff

I knew someone would bring this up. The Canadian version of last night's game would've been a greater classic, considering they were the ones who rallied to tie the game. Blowing a 2 goal lead with 3 minutes left but still winning in OT is less of I would consider a "classic"

Talk about an ultimate high only to have it all taken away. Tying the game with 3 minutes left, are you kidding me? If only the intermission wasn't so long... No doubt if it was a 5 minute overtime Canada would've ended it with all the momentum and jump they had (Almost won it in regulation at the end there). It's too bad Canada didn't finish off the comeback, would've been an absolute classic. Eberle is a damn hero . Congrats to the Americans. Can't wait for next year, as the US defends their Gold on home ice against a bitter Canadian squad who is sure to be a favourite again (and will garner lots of support in Buffalo)... and lets not forget the Swedes

The OP mentioned that USA Hockey is streaming it, so probably a much better quality than Justin.tv

Lets go Canada!

this is bad... I like the Kings but the Sharks are supposed to win as LA is one of the teams the Wings are trying to catch up to

Hope he can play in the Olympics... was a lot of hate for the pick but I love it

Awesome as usual, all the great wallpapers I have on my computer only get a chance a few months in the summer as a result of these

Bergeron

Go B's!

Friday: Philadelphia @ Boston Atlanta @ Buffalo Saturday: Carolina @ NY Rangers Vancouver @ Dallas Pittsburgh @ Tampa Bay Washington @ Los Angeles Atlanta @ NY Islanders Colorado @ Columbus Toronto @ Calgary Chicago @ St Louis Anaheim @ Nashville New Jersey @ Minnesota Detroit @ Phoenix Edmonton @ San Jose Sunday: Philadelphia @ Ottawa Buffalo @ Montreal Pittsburgh @ Florida Anaheim @ Chicago

Very pleased to see Doughty and Bergeron picked. Not surprised to see Phaneuf and especially Green passed over. I think that the fact that Seabrook plays with Keith is the only reason he's on the team. Otherwise Jay would've beat him out. Glad to see they stayed away from Lecavalier who's been cold, and that they skipped St. Louis despite his good play. Toews looks like the 13th forward of the mix, but I'm sure they'll all get to play at some point. Loved how Babcock was saying he wanted them to play: To be physical with and without the puck, and be relentless. Can't wait.

Damn, no Hasek

Yep both goalies get credited with one

Random quick question: what's Zetterberg's status? Still on pace? (Original report was min 2 weeks, that would be by this weekend or so)

Going by 23 man roster + 3 players on taxi squad (F F D) My team Canada: FORWARDS Nash-Crosby-Iginla [A] Heatley-Thornton-Marleau Morrow-M. Richards-Doan [A] Bergeron-Getzlaf-E. Staal B. Richards Taxi: Toews, Smyth - Mike Richards has had a poor season but Babcock loved him in camp, so I kept him on. A suitable replacement could be Mike Fisher though. - The 2nd line has been playing with each other all year and are red hot; in a short tournament it makes sense to have them all there. - The 3rd is a dream checking line that could prove to be a difference maker. - Bergeron has played himself on the team I think, and he's a very versatile and all around good player. He had great chemistry with Crosby previously so he has that going for him as well. - B Richards as the 13th forward for his past experience and ability to play on the wing (as well as his exceptional season so far). - Toews on the taxi squad because he is young and will be part of the future, and Smyth because he's a different type of player who could step in depending on needs. - There is about a 0% chance that Crosby will be captain on this team. Maybe in 2014, champ. (Had to be said as I've heard this predicted for a reason beyond me) - Gagne I had on previously but I'm not sure he'll be on anymore due to his injury (just got back), same goes for Savard (though he was a longer shot than Gagne IMO) - I think Lecavalier has played himself off of the team, and as a result St. Louis won't be on either, as IMO the only reason he would be on was to play with Vinny. - I'll be shocked to see Jordan Staal on the team considering the alternatives available. That said, if he is inserted into the 3rd line instead of Richards, I won't be complaining, he's a great checking centre with offensive upside, like Richards but not as good IMO) - I'll also be surprised to see Corey Perry on the team, I don't think he's good enough to play for Canada, even if he does play with Getzlaf regularly. DEFENSE Keith-Bouwmeester Pronger-Niedermayer [C] Weber-Boyle Regehr Taxi: Doughty -The d-corps is balanced from mostly offense (Boyle) to mostly defense (Regehr) and plenty of guys in between who excel at both. A lot of veterans here which can be important at this position. - I wanted to stick with my original prediction that Pronger wouldn't be on the team, but he's having a good year despite the Flyers' poor one. He's also a seasoned veteran so his odds are very good. That said, considering the team Yzerman is building I won't be caught off guard if he is passed over, as he is slow and can take bad penalties, not something you want in a short tournament. - Niedermayer is having a very poor year, but nobody is going to question him. I wouldn't be mad if he didn't make it as he is having a bad year and it would make room for a younger player, but chances are very good that he'll be on the team and very good that he'll play well. - You can bet we won't be seeing Mike Green on the team, Yzerman stated he wants to build a team that is responsible on defense, and the explosive young d-man still needs to work on his. - Phaneuf, a popular pick, I think will be left off. He's the 3rd best defenseman on his team, and not a top 7 defenseman in his country. His time will come in 2014. - Doughty was selected for the taxi squad as he will undoubtedly be one of Canada's top guys going forward. I'm also confident that if he had to step in he would exceed all expectations of a kid his age on such a grand stage. - Robidas is 4th in defense scoring and leading in hits. He has a tonne of heart and is a different type of player than the rest, however, I don't think he has enough star power to make the push onto the team. He could be in the taxi position but I went with Doughty instead for the aforementioned reasons. - Many are saying Seabrook will make the team to be paired with Keith. Seabrook is great but I think if you put him on you are taking some better guys off. - Willie Mitchell would be an acceptable replacement for Regehr if one wanted, but Regehr has the previous experience. GOALIES Brodeur Luongo Fleury Brodeur has reasserted himself as the starter this season in what, in all probability, will be his last Olympics. Luongo is a lock to back-up given his experience and the frequent conversation of him dethroning Brodeur. Marc-Andre Fluery has easily beaten out his 3rd string competition in Ward and Steve Mason as they're both having poor years and MAF is having an exceptional one.

My Team USA: Burke said he wants to build Team USA like a team, not a team of all-stars, and he also has mentioned he wants size to match-up against Canada. Subsequently I believe the forward corps will be very similar to these. FORWARDS Parise - Stastny - Kessel Ryan - Pavelski - Kane Brown [A] - Kesler - Malone Backes - Drury [C] - Byfuglien Connolly, Langenbrunner - 2 balanced scoring lines - An exceptional 3rd line that can energize the team as well as score - A 4th line with 2 big bodies and a veteran clutch goal scorer - Connolly and Langenbrunner on the taxi squad gives you backup skilled centre and another valuable veteran. I think only one of Modano or Drury makes the team (and is captain), I went with Drury because he is famous for performing in the clutch. Pominville is a top 6 forward and there's just no room for him on this team in that capacity, he couldn't play 3rd/4th IMO. I'd be very surprised to see Jason Blake on the team considering the talent available DEFENSE Suter - Martin Rafalski [A] - Komisarek E. Johnson - Orpik Whitney - You got an offensive and a defensive minded defenseman on each pair, a mix of veterans and younger players. - If Martin is still hurt or not up to speed Andy Greene can step into some combination Goalies Miller Thomas Anderson What is there to say, Miller is the best goalie in hockey right now, he's a lock to start. Thomas has the Vezina from last year and is a vet so he's also a lock to back-up. Anderson had the hot start and I think that will get him chosen over Quick. I'd be very surprised to see a rookie like Howard on the team. I'll do Canada later, getting late

There an obvious choice when you look at all the numbers, I get quite annoyed to see things like "Who is the best post-expansion goalie?" poll on TSN and see Hasek in a distant 3rd place, its just wrong. The Dominator is the greatest goaltender the game has ever seen. Top 10 regular season SV% finishes: Hasek - 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 Roy - 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10 Brodeur - 3, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 Awards: Hasek: 6 x first team all-star 6 x Vezina Trophy 2 x Hart Trophy & Pearson Roy: 4 x First Team All-Star 2 x Second Team All-Star 3 x Conn Smythe 3 x Vezina Trophy Brodeur: 3 x First Team All-Star 4 x Second Team All-Star 4 x Vezina trophy winner 2 Harts > 3 Conn Smythes IMO, as the latter is largely based on having a team good enough to make it to the finals. Top 5 finishes in Hart voting: Hasek - 1, 1, 2, 3, 3 Roy - 2, 3, 4, 5 Brodeur - 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5 More quick hits: - Roy never won another Vezina after Hasek entered the league. - Brodeur only started getting first team all-stars after Hasek/Roy were no longer competition. And Hasek got them against tougher competition (Brodeur, Roy) than Brodeur did. - From 1994-2002 Hasek faced 1060 more shots than Brodeur and let in 135 less goals - Hasek is 1st all time in SV% (.922) Hasek had probably the greatest single goaltending performance ever in the 1998 Nagano Olympics. He allowed only 6 goals all tournament, including just 2 in the medal rounds. He beat Patrick Roy and Canada in the semi-final 2-1 in a shootout, stopping all 5 Canadian shooters. He went on to shut-out Russia 1-0 in the Gold Medal game and was named the best goaltender in the Olympics. The other time that Hasek faced off against Roy was in the 2002 WCF. The Avs had a 3-2 series lead and could close it out at home. Hasek had other ideas as he stopped 24 shots in a 2-0 road win to force a game 7. We all know what happened in that game as Dom posted another shutout for the series win. Hasek also had an impressive pre-NHL career. If he wasn't stuck behind the Iron Curtain he would've been able to come to the NHL sooner. Nevertheless his accomplishments there are of note: Goaltender of the year from 1986-1990, and player of the year 1987, 1989, 1990. If he was able to start his NHL career on time (was drafted in 1983) I don't think such a debate (greatest goalie ever/of modern era) would even be much of one. That said, when you look closely and objectively it's still pretty clear.

Just going by Sportsclubstats.com, today we want: Oilers @ Wild Blue Jackets @ Stars Ducks @ Coyotes Blues @ Flames

^ mindfly specifically said "not by a huge margin" I think you misread it....

Canada Finland game starts two min ago

Congrats Marty! Love that he did it against the Pens in such a huge conference/divisional matchup ... Man the Devils are rollin this year

The USA roster will be announced at the Winter Classic (and will be the last of the teams announced)

Friday: Ottawa @ New Jersey Toronto @ Buffalo Carolina @ Florida Tampa Bay @ St Louis Boston @ Chicago Washington @ Vancouver Saturday: NY Rangers @ Philadelphia Detroit @ Dallas Phoenix @ Anaheim Nashville @ Calgary Pittsburgh @ Buffalo Boston @ Toronto Minnesota @ Ottawa Montreal @ NY Islanders Florida @ Carolina New Jersey @ Atlanta Columbus @ Colorado Washington @ Edmonton Sunday: Detroit @ Chicago St Louis @ Vancouver

Howard confirmed

Friday: Florida @ New Jersey Carolina @ Washington Chicago @ Buffalo Anaheim @ Detroit Edmonton @ St Louis Tampa Bay @ Colorado Minnesota @ Calgary Dallas @ San Jose Saturday: Washington @ Toronto Carolina @ Ottawa Philadelphia @ New Jersey Boston @ NY Islanders Buffalo @ NY Rangers Montreal @ Atlanta Anaheim @ Columbus Florida @ Pittsburgh Detroit @ Nashville San Jose @ Phoenix Minnesota @ Vancouver Dallas @ Los Angeles Sunday: Tampa Bay @ Chicago Calgary @ Colorado