|
|
|
The U.S. opened the 2016 World Junior Championship with a stunning 4-2 victory over Canada by riding a three-goal third period. The game wasnt always pretty, but the Americans Herman Moore Jersey picked it up late to pull away from their North American rivals.The games first four goals were scored by first-round NHL draft picks, with Canadas Mathew Barzal, a prospect, opening things up with a second-period goal. That was followed by Team USAs and first-rounder Colin White tying things up on a great effort to get to the net. Zach Werenski ( ) and Dylan Strome ( ) traded goals in the third period before Team USA surprised Canada with a pair of quick strikes.Defenseman Louie Belpedio, a prospect, had his point shot tipped by a Canadian defenseman and in to make it 3-2. Just 41 seconds later, Auston Matthews the consensus top pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft poked home a loose puck to make it 4-2 in the latter stages of the third period.USA shut Canada down for the most part the rest of the way, but can also tip their hat to goaltender and draft pick Alex Nedeljkovic for his 25-save performance. He made some key stops throughout the game that helped his defensemen out. Heres five other things to know about the WJC opener.1. Team USA earned their first win over Canada in the preliminary round since 1998.The World Junior rivalry between the U.S. and Canada has gotten better over the years, but when it comes to preliminary-round play, it has been laughably one-sided. There have been a ton of great prelim games, but since 1998 they all ended the same way, with a Canadian victory.The U.S. was 0-6-2-1 (W-L-OTL-T) against Canada since 1998 coming into Saturday's tilt. Though the U.S. has beaten Canada in three medal-round games including two finals since 2004, breaking the preliminary-round drought is pretty big. It should help the team gain some confidence because they've done something so few USA squads have done at this tournament.. It is only the eighth victory over Canada in the 42 meetings between the North American rivals at the World Junior Championship.2. The win puts USA in better position to finish group play in first place.The reason a win over Canada is a little bigger for the U.S. despite this being the preliminary round is Halapoulivaati Vaitai Jersey that it puts the Americans on track to finish first in the group. Normally, these two teams are scheduled meet on New Years Eve when theyve both gotten the first three prelim games under their belts and both have teams that are more comfortable with each other.Meeting in the first game may have leveled the playing field a bit, as Canada appears to have a deeper roster. But regardle s, Team USA is going to take the win here and try to build off of it. Up next is Sweden, who beat Switzerland 8-3 to start the tournament. Thats going to be another tough matchup, but the Swedes could be without top player William Nylander, who was injured in that win. Theyre also mi sing two top defensemen injured prior to the tournament. If Team USA can take advantage of a depleted lineup, theyre well on their way to taking first place in the group with games against Switzlerland and Denmark to close out group play.A first-place finish would pit the U.S. against the fourth-place team from the other group in the quarterfinals, for a more favorable matchup. In each of the last two years, USA was bounced by Ru sia in the quarterfinals, a matchup they could have avoided with a better group play finish.3. USA played almost the entire game without Alex DeBrincat, a probable top-15 pick this year In the first period, USA forward Alex DeBrincat, who is a top NHL draft pick this year, was whistled for spearing. He got a five-minute major and game misconduct, which left Team USA without their top right winger.DeBrincat done after this spear on Konecny. Not a good look. Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) That caused U.S. head coach Ron Wilson to jumble his lines a bit, which wasnt ideal. It was a really poor penalty for DeBrincat to take in his international debut, but the Americans killed off the major penalty over the end of the first period and start of the second in what turned out to be a key game.4. Team USAs go-to goal celebration is apparently the Dab.After scoring the game-tying goal against Canada, Ottawa Senators first-rounder Colin White hit the Dab in celebration, but added the one knee to it. Cam Newton would be proud.Colin White Detroit Lions Jersey brings the Dab to World Juniors Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) Zach Werenskis power-play goal in third period that gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead was also followed by the Dab. Werenski dabs too Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) Dylan Strome answered back with the Bow and Arrow celebration. So for a little while it looked like we were going to have a danceoff between the two clubs.Then Louie Belpedio went with an understated Dab on the go-ahead goal and that was the last word on the Dab and the danceoff. Somewhere, Cam Newton is smiling. Don Cherry is not.The players later confirmed to TSN's Mark Masters that Newton was their inspiration for bringing it to Team USA: USA players confirm goal celebration inspired by Cam Newton Mark Masters (@markhmasters) 5. These were some of the players that stood out in the opener:It's tough to get comprehensive and truth be told, the opening game is really tough to evaluate since all the teams are still finding their way, but here are a few players that stuck out at various stages of the game.Colin White (USA): Named U.S. player of the game, White scored the first goal for the Americans, but what struck me was the speed at which he was playing. This was a sloppy game for the most part, but White was able to use his speed to his advantage. He also had an a sist in the game. Hes been tearing it up at Boston College this year as a freshman, and could remind a lot of USA fans of rookie in how he plays.Dylan Strome (CAN): The Arizona Coyotes top pick last year impre sed with a tremendous shot on his goal (seen above). He was a factor for a good portion of the game, especially late, shaking off an early penalty. Hes going to be a key forward for Canada.Alex Julian Okwara Jersey Nedeljkovic (USA): The Americans really needed their goalie to come up big on occasion and Nedeljkovic did on several occasions. Unlike a lot of the monstrously-sized goalies right now, Nedeljkovic is 6-feet. Though very athletic, Nedeljkovic doesnt waste movement and made some key stops thanks to good positioning, including on a Dylan Strome shot on a 2-on-1.Mathew Barzal (CAN): Aside from scoring the goal, Barzal was threatening offensively for much of the game. Canada liked to move him around quite Steven Montez Jersey a bit and let him work in with some lines and he seemed to really thrive in that role. Barzal has some terrific puck skills and speed, which will make him a player to watch in this tournament.Will Borgen (USA): The draft pick was relatively unknown coming into this tournament, but good size and poise in his own zone made him a valued defender. He was out with returnee Brandon Carlo in the dying minutes to keep Canada off the board. He also picked up an a sist on Team USAs third goal. The St. Cloud State University freshman had a great debut. And since he's likely to be the No. 1 pick in the draft this summer...Auston Matthews (USA): Matthews draft didnt have an incredible start to the game, but he came up big when his team needed him most. He lost one of his regular linemates right away when DeBrincat was ejected, but late in the game he was buzzing. Matthews scored the dagger fourth goal on an easy tap in, but was creating with linemates Matthew Tkachuk and Brock Boeser, who took DeBrincats spot. He also had an a sist. Look for him to get better as the tournament goes on. |
|
发表于 