Team North America’s pair of impressive performances against Team Europe have many believing that the 23-and-under squad can give more experienced clubs in the World Cup of Hockey a run for their money, but their 7-4 victory on Sunday contained a few warning signs that should give head coach Todd Mclellan some pause.
The talent-laden group jumped out to a four-goal lead on the overwhelmed Europeans after 20 minutes, but instead of effectively shutting the opposition down and putting away the victory, the North Americans displayed the arrogance of youth and tried to score more goals. As a result, Europe slowly climbed back to within 5-4 before Johnny Gaudreau added an insurance goal midway through the third period.
"The initial phase of the game went our way, we were making plays and we were fast, (but) the game wasn't going to be played that way for all 60 minutes and I didn't think we did a good job of adjusting.” McLellan said following the game. "When you get a 5-1 lead and you've made some nice plays, the whole night turns into making nice plays and you forget about the grit game and the defending part."
For the “young guns” to have a legitimate chance to get out of their division (with Finland, Sweden and Russia), they will have to play a tighter brand of hockey that can win close games instead of relying on their high-octane offense to outscore their opponent.
“We can score, we can drive possession, we’re learning to defend,” GM Peter Chiarelli said on
Sportsnet’s Hockey Central on Monday. “Our challenge will be playing without the puck, and in a tighter game.”
After giving both Matt Murray and John Gibson a start against Europe, the favorite to be the go-to guy when tournament play begins against Finland on Sunday is Murray.
Gibson fell victim to his teammates desire to take more chances and allowed four goals on 30 shots on Sunday, while the Stanley Cup winning Murray made 23 saves in a 4-0 shutout on Thursday.
With Dylan Larkin inserted into the lineup, McLellan altered his line combos and shuffled them at times during the game. The Red Wings forward played with Nathan MacKinnon and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jack Eichel was shifted from center to wing on the top line with Gaudreau and Connor McDavid and 2016 first overall pick Auston Matthews saw more ice time, playing with Brandon Saad and Mark Scheifele.
The 18-year-old set up defenseman Aaron Ekblad for his first goal and later in the game weaved through the European defense to nearly score on Jaroslav Halak.
Team North America will play their final exhibition game against the Czech Republic at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
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