Olympic Recap – Quarterfinals

February 25th, 2010 View Comments

Arguably the most exciting day of hockey during the entire Olympics happened yesterday, including what was supposed to be the unreal match up between Russia and Canada. Not many could have predicted the final outcome of the days events.

Colorado Avalanche center Paul Stastny controls the puck for Team USA against Switzerland

Courtesy of NHL.com

The first game that most missed, because it was midday (and tape delayed for some odd reason), was the Team USA vs. Switzerland skirmish, which we wrote about already!

Then came the highly anticipated Canada vs. Russia game. The one that shouldn’t happen in the quarterfinals but was still a match up to end all match ups with the two mother-of-all-stacked-rosters. Two thirds of NHL players are on these teams. I predicted Russia over Canada (though Russia typically chokes…).

Corey Perry scores for team Canada on goalie Ilya Bryzgalov in a Canadian rout of Russia

Courtesy of Vancouver2010.com

I think what we all got surprised everybody. Essentially, Russia choked (as expected) and got absolutely razed by Canada. Evgeni Nabokov (San Jose Sharks) was pulled after allowing 6 goals. 6 GOALS! WTF Russia? Ilya Bryzgalov (Phoenix Coyotes) came in and only allowed one more. Shame on you. Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals), who’s that? Where was he.

Canada owned Russia, scoring 4 goals in the first period and 3 in the second. Game over. Wow. Shocking in score only. Nobody expected a blowout here. Sounds like a typical Sharks playoff game to me.

Finland tender Mikka Kiprusoff makes a save on the Czech Republic

Courtesy of Vancouver2010.com

After that, the Finland vs. the Czech Republic game seemed rather drab, despite a strong showing by recently slumping goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff (Calgary Flames). Although matched exactly in shots, the Finns made the most of their 31 chances, putting one away after the halfway point in the third and sealing the deal with an empty netter.

Tomas Vokoun (Florida Panthers), NHL superstar of late, just couldn’t get it done without any offensive help.

While not surprising, this game really could have gone either way. I fully expect Kiprusoff to crack under pressure here and let Team USA walk all over him.

The last game of the night was simply the most shocking event of the tournament. Slovakia, the underdog of the final rounds, upset Russia early on in the tournament, proving that they were there to play. Largely that was the biggest upset, until the Slovaks shocked the world again by beating the favored team Sweden.

Peter Forsberg and team Sweden lament elimination at the hands of a Slovakian upset

Courtesy of Vancouver2010.com

Sweden had the big names, Sweden had the title defense in mind, and Sweden had 29 shots on goal. Slovakia had a few big names, they had 14 shots on goal, but they had the biggest upset of the games under their belt and came out ready to play. They scored 4 goals to Sweden’s 3, begging the question, what the hell happened to Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers). Lundqvist had 2 shutouts this tournament already. Where did he go.

I almost think Slovakia deserves the gold for accomplishing what they have already and I will be rooting for them to face the U.S. in the finals. That’s assuming that they can beat Canada, which at this point, wouldn’t be much of a shocker anymore.

More Olympic coverage: (Day 1)(Day 2)(Day 3)(Day 4)(Day 5)(Day 6)(Playoff Picture/Predictions)(Swiss Win)(Qualifiers)(Swiss Lose).