There were no upsets on Day 2 of the Olympic men's hockey tournament.
Team USA had the most dominant performance, and Ryan Kesler had a great game in his group's 7-1 win over Slovakia. He tallied a goal, an assist, four shots, was a team-high plus-4, and went 11 for 13 on faceoffs while playing more than any other U.S. forward—what else is new?
Russia and Canada didn't dish out the lickings that were expected on Slovenia and Norway, respectively, but neither game was really in doubt. Winning by identical scores of 3-1, the margins were just a bit closer than most people had expected.
Full credit to the opponent, from my point of view. Except for that stretch in the second period where Canada dominated, I thought Norway played pretty well. Their goaltender was solid, they were hitting and they got enough chances that they forced Canada to take some penalties.
I'm not too concerned that Canada and Russia didn't come out with guns a-blazing. There's room in this tournament for teams to grow and improve.
Our boy Dan Hamhuis played the least of the seven defensemen, with 9:52 of ice time. He had two shots—and took the longest shifts of anybody on Team Canada, an average of 56 seconds. Apparently Mike Babcock's looking for 40-second shifts, so I'm not sure that habit's going to endear him to the boss.
It sounds like P.K. Subban will draw in against Austria on Friday. I wonder if Hamhuis will be the odd man out?
For now, let's enjoy the moment. Our Vancouver Canucks are 7-0 through their first games of the Olympic tournament. Winning must feel SO good to that group of seven right now.
To keep things interesting, Carey Price did make a gaffe behind the net which led to Norway's power-play goal—the first goal that Canada has surrendered to Norway since the Sarajevo Olympics in 1984! That's 30 years ago: Price and many of his teammates weren't even alive then.
He did make some good saves when necessary, and Mike Babcock said after the game that he thought Price played well, but Roberto Luongo has been promised the start on Friday against Austria. We'll see what happens from there.
Luongo was testing out some new Olympic gear a few weeks ago, but Glenn Healy pointed out during today's broadcast that he was wearing his usual Canuck pads and gloves when he sat on the bench as Price's backup today. The Olympics are not subject to the new rules about smaller goalie pads, but Healy seems to think that Luongo will be more comfortable using his familiar, broken-in equipment.
One other tidbit that was mentioned on the broadcast was an earlier comment from Babcock to the effect that it's okay to change goalies once, but not to change them twice. My assumption is that these early audition games don't fall under that umbrella. Whoever starts the Finland game on Sunday is likely the horse that Babcock wants to ride.
Canuck Olympic History: Petr Nedved
I'll spend some time during these Games talking about the past Olympic experiences of Vancouver Canucks from days gone by. Since 42-year-old Petr Nedved lined up for the Czechs yesterday, he's a good place to start.
The then 22-year-old Nedved played for Team Canada in Lillehammer in 1994—because he was holding out with the Canucks, waiting for a trade.
Nedved defected from then-Czechoslovakia during a midget tournament in 1988, when he was 17, and was drafted second overall by the Canucks at the draft held in Vancouver in 1990. He was an odd fit for the team at that time, led by Pat Quinn and his understudy, Brian Burke. They were both fans of big, North American bruisers, even then.
Nedved made the team as a wispy 18-year-old who could be blown over by a strong breeze, then took heat from fans for a lack of consistency and shaky defensive play. Fellow youngster Trevor Linden started to blossom, Quinn made the team tougher, and then Pavel Bure arrived on the scene, eclipsing Nedved in the role of "flashy European goalscorer."
Though he never quite fit with the team, Nedved scored 38 goals in 1992-93 after Igor Larionov's departure opened up a hole at centre. In an era when salary disclosure was just starting to drive up NHL wages, Nedved felt that his emergence as an offensive star put him in line for a big contract—and Pat Quinn disagreed.
The stalemate led to Nedved sitting out the beginning of the 1993-94 NHL season, requesting a trade. When no move was immediately forthcoming, he got his Canadian citizenship and joined up with Canada's national team to get some playing time and stay in shape. That earned him an invite to the Olympics.
1994 was the last Olympics before NHL players were invited to join. It was also the tournament where Canada won the silver medal—or lost the gold, if you prefer—thanks to Peter Forsberg's dazzling shootout goal on future Canuck Corey Hirsch.
Nedved played well in the tournament, with five goals in six games, and it wasn't long after that before he was signed to a three-year, $4.05 million offer sheet as a restricted free agent by the St. Louis Blues. Sounds like peanuts now, but according to capgeek.com, Nedved made just $225,000 the season before. Million-dollar deals were still a big deal at that time.
The Blues owed the Canucks compensation for signing Nedved. After a long back-and-forth, the team eventually ended up with Jeff Brown, Bret Hedican and Nathan Lafayette. Though Vancouver had tried to get Brendan Shanahan, Brown instantly ignited the power play. All three players were instrumental in the run to the finals that unfurled that spring—to the point where the giddy crowd at the Pacific Coliseum was chanting "Thank you Peter!" after his holdout ended up delivering the missing pieces of the team's puzzle.
Click here for more on the Nedved saga, from the Kurtenblog.
It's hard for me to believe that Nedved was only here for three seasons plus his holdout yer. I saw him around town a lot during his time in Vancouver. He spent six seasons with the New York Rangers and is now in his sixth year with Liberec of the Czech league, so I'm sure those stops define his hockey career in his mind much more than Vancouver does.
It's amazing to me, for a player whose commitment and work ethic was questioned so much in his youth, that Nedved is still playing hockey at 42 years old. I don't think the Czechs will do much in this tournament but I'm personally glad to have one last chance to watch him play and sift through those old memories.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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