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Learning Lessons And Line Juggling In Loss To Czechs |
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Team North America received a reality check after a 3-2 loss to the Czech Republic at Consol Energy Center on Wednesday. The more experienced club benefited from a good performance from Flyers goalie Michal Neuvirth and timely offense to defeat the 23-and-under squad in their final exhibition game before the beginning of tournament play in Toronto this weekend.
Ondrej Palat opened the scoring on the power play midway through the first period and Radek Faksa extended the Czech lead to 2-0 in the third, but that goal seemed to wake up and increase the “young guns” level of desperation, as Shayne Gostisbehere and Auston Matthews scored in a span of 1:59 to tie the game.
The even score lasted less than a minute, as veteran Tomas Plekanec scored the game winner past Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
In spite of scoring success in two victories over Team Europe, head coach Todd McLellan continued to experiment with different line combinations to with his talented group. Nathan MacKinnon and Auston Matthews have benefited the most from the line juggling, as the Avalanche forward saw time on the top line with Connor McDavid after registering four points in the first two games.
Matthews’ ice time and role has increased exponentially after being considered the 13th forward through most of North America’s camp. The Maple Leafs top pick played just over 13 minutes and just 45 seconds of power play time in his first game against Europe, but against the Czechs played nearly 18 minutes and over six minutes TOI with the man advantage.
Matthews was matched with McDavid and Jack Eichel near the end of the game, which could be a combo that McLellan goes with since McDavid has not found chemistry with a variety of linemates.
Goaltending does not seem to be an area of concern, as Matt Murray further solidified his hold on the starting goalie job. The Stanley Cup winner allowed one goal on 17 shots against the Czechs before being relieved by Hellebuyck in the third and appears to be a shoo in to get the call when things get real against Finland on Sunday.
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