There we have it.
Sweden will meet Canada for the gold medal in men's hockey on Sunday morning in Sochi.
Roberto Luongo probably won't get back in net, especially after Carey Price's 31-save shutout against the Americans. I guess he's learned a thing or two about dealing with these situations graciously. Here's his Tweet from last night:
And after the game:
Price has probably put to rest his reputation that he's not a big-game goalie, though he still has one more test on Sunday against Sweden. And I guess it turned out that his old WHL backup was right—he really did take the net from Luongo and not give it back.
A good day for the B.C. boys in the low-scoring affair. Victoria's Jamie Benn scored the game's only goal on a slick deflection from a great pass by Jay Bouwmeester, while Anahim Lake native Price got the shutout.
As for the Swedes, they'll be looking for an Olympic gold to match the medal they won at the World Championship in Stockholm last spring. The Finns were a step behind after their big win against Russia on Wednesday—and Kari Lehtonen subbed in for an ill Tuukka Rask. That all led to a 2-1 win for Sweden.
Daniel Sedin continues to play well on Sweden's top line. His linemate Loui Eriksson got the Swedes on the board, then Daniel assisted on Erik Karlsson's power-play game-winner, midway through the game.
Daniel has a goal and four assists in five games in the tournament, so here's hoping he can bring that kind of production home with him!
Alex Edler played about 13 minutes on the Swedish blue line, but at least he's not Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The Phoenix Coyotes' young blueliner dressed for the game, and didn't play one shift.
You know who else was in the same boat? Dan Hamhuis of Canada. I could have sworn I heard Jim Hughson announce his name during the broadcast, but the official stat sheet says otherwise.
Click here to see.
Hamhuis is in good company. Last year's NHL leading scorer, Martin St. Louis, also didn't play a second for Canada.
For the Americans, Ryan Kesler was a key player in the loss, playing more than 20 minutes. He had a tougher time than usual in the face-off circle, going 9-11, but didn't do as badly as Joe Pavelski, who got schooled at 2-10. Jonathan Toews was strong on the draw for Canada, as was Matt Duchene. He stepped in for the injured John Tavares and went 7-2 in the circle, a buzz-saw in his eight minutes of action.
That might not be such good news the next time the Canucks match up against Colorado...
In typical Ryan Kesler fashion, he hobbled off the ice near the end of the second period after blocking a shot, but returned to play another 7:26 in the third. He had just one shot on goal, though. That came in the first period.
I'll be monitoring all the Olympic action on Saturday, so I'll have one more report on Kesler for you following the bronze medal game. That runs at 7 a.m. PT. tomorrow.
Back at Home:
The Canucks will hit the ice at 12:30 today for another practice. It seems that Stephen Harper and Zack Kassian have won their bets against Barack Obama and Tom Sestito, respectively.
As the NHL machine starts to crank back up, the Canucks announced today that the team will make its annual visit to the BC Children's hospital on Monday. Then, they'll be back on the ice Wednesday against St. Louis and Friday against Minnesota ahead of next weekend's Heritage Classic.
For all the fanfare surrounding the stadium game, it's interesting to learn that a contingent from Seattle will be making an overnight visit and taking in the Blues game on Wednesday.
Click here for the story from the
Seattle Times.
I'm not sure what kind of game they'll get, with so many players from both teams just back from Sochi, but it will give them a more authentic game experience than what they'd see in the stadium. We might even have a somewhat pumped-up crowd if Canada can bring home the gold!
I love the idea of an expansion team in Seattle. It would finally provide a short-travel rival for the Canucks, and would offer plenty of opportunity for road trips on both sides. The Sounders have some of the best fans in Major League Soccer and after the Seahawks' Super Bowl win, Seattle's peaking as a sports town. It's the perfect time to introduce something new.
Three more days till the trade deadline lifts. Will we see any moves from Mike Gillis once the doors are opened?
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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