I'm pooped, so I apologize if this blog is terrible or there's errors all over the place. These 4am hockey games need to stop before my Christmas vacation is over, or I'll lose my day job.

Of course, this game was interesting and entertaining. Why? Because...

1. I'm hockey-starved, and any game looks good at this point, and

2. Canada vs. USA is always interesting. We're talking an epic battle between lifelong rivals. The War of 1812, 54-40 or fight, and all of that.

Truthfully, this game stunk. Almost no offense, and gritty, trap defense. It was like watching the Wild play the Coyotes. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Here's the notable stuff I, ummm, noticed, during the game:

- Best player on the ice was Canadian goaltender Malcolm Subban. Good for him. He's been blasted by everyone since this tournament began. Maybe him stealing a win will shut people up.

- And Canada DID steal this win. They completely went to sleep for the last half of the game. Why do coaches encourage teams to sit on a 2-goal lead with 30+ minutes remaining? So stupid.

- John Gibson was great in the US goal. He was the only player I noticed from the US side. I'm not saying the Americans were terrible, because they weren't. But to say some of their players stood out? No. Even the "big names" like Alex Galchenyuk and Seth Jones looked ordinary.

- Okay, maybe I liked Jacob Trouba a little. Okay, a lot. Teams missed the boat at the draft with this kid. Should have went closer to #6 overall.

- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has no business being here. He's completely on a different level from everyone else in the tournament. Once a player plays in the NHL, that should be the end of their eligibility for the WJHC. Nuge scored one, and should have had another. If his wingers weren't asleep in this game, he would have had multiple points. Again.

- Mark Scheifele again with the diving. I can't stand guys who play that way. He's a big boy, too. There's no excuse.

- What in the world is Ryan Murphy doing on this team? Yet again, he managed to screw things up every time he touched the puck. He trips over his own feet when he skates. He jumps into the play when he should hang back. He hangs back when he should jump into the play. He shoots when he should pass. He can't finish a check to save his life. An absolutely dreadful player.

- Dougie Hamilton doesn't belong on the power-play. The pairing of Hamilton/Murphy has absolutely no creativity, nor can they get the puck on the net. With Nuge, Scheifele and Huberdeau up front, this power-play should be scoring at will.

- Jonathan Drouin can skate circles around everyone else. How is he ranked behind MacKinnon and Jones for the 2013 Entry Draft?

- What was the ref doing at the end of the game? The call on Tyler Biggs was bogus, and it caused Team USA to completely lose their minds. Refs shouldn't decide games; players should.

- After Nuge, the player that has impressed me most during the tournament for Canada is Ryan Strome. He looks NHL ready. Scored the winner tonight.


Here's a few other random comments:

- Did I hear correctly that Oilers prospect Tobias Rieder is playing more-or-less with a broken foot? Apparently he came back from injury very quickly so he could play for Team Germany. He's been their best player, and I've loved everything I've seen him do in the tourney. He's a right-winger, and that makes me wonder: If Rieder turns out to be the offensive weapon I think he will, does that mean eventually Nail Yakupov is moved in a significant deal? We're talking two or three years down the road here, of course. I've got a hell of a gut feeling about Rieder's potential.

- Team Finland is making me look stupid. I said before this started that they'd win the gold. They started great, but ever since the injury to Miro Aaltonen, Finland has looked awful. Tonight, they had to score two in the last 10 minutes to go to a shootout, eventually beating a stubborn Swiss team 5-4. If Finland would have lost, they could have missed the medal round. As it is, I think they'd drawn an ugly first opponent for the medal round. Maybe Team Canada, which would be terrible for both sides.

- Nail Yakupov was misquoted, apparently, when he said Canadians play dirty hockey. What he was trying to say is, Canadians CAN play dirty. Sorry, that doesn't make me feel better. Every team and every player can lose their cool and do something cheap, like cross-check someone in the back of the head. I seem to remember a bench-clearing hockey brawl from the 80's with Russian players kicking people? Yakupov needs to be careful, as everyone will listen to everything he says and will twist words into daggers.

- I've got a nickel to bet on Nugent-Hopkins and Yakupov colliding knee-on-knee halfway though the 1st period tomorrow morning, with both players requiring surgery and lost for the rest of the season. Why? Because they're Oilers.

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