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Team Europe Ends Prelims on a Very High Note |
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It took them three games, but Europe finally looked like a team capable of not just competing, but really doing some damage on top teams.
The oldest team in the tournament was ironically led by the hat trick of their youngest player on Wednesday night. Leon Draisaitl led the charge for Team Europe, getting them on the board first, and following that up with the team's third and fifth goals en route to a 6-2 shelling of Sweden.
None prettier than this high skill second goal that would eventually be the game winner for Europe
Draisaitl still played just 13:00 minutes on the evening despite his excellent scoring efforts. Perhaps coach Krueger allows his young center a little more ice time as we head into live tournament action.
Jaro Halak also turned away 34 of 36 and 29 of 30 at even strength to solidify his role as the tournament starter for Europe. He was one of the two facets of the game that really came around for Europe in Game Three. The other was the controlled pace of play, which Europe struggled mightily with against North America. While they may have looked poor in the first game, we saw flashes of their savvy puck possession and movement in Game Two. Game Three was the complete performance, and one that inspires hope moving forward. Perhaps some credit should be given to the line swapping my Krueger, as each line looked a little more balanced than earlier games.
Europe has faced challenges that other teams really have not had to endure, and an extremely slow start to the tournament should have almost been expected. While other plays get to compete with their nation, which are assembled teams just like Europe, most of these players have familiarity with one another from various international tournaments. Team Canada, Team USA, and Team Sweden all generally have the same core players that have played together from juniors on upward. While Team North America has to face a little unfamiliarity, most of these guys played together in the World Juniors or in the various junior ranks. Team Europe is a brand new team, with representatives from countries like Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, France etc. Most of these guys had probably not even met each other until they were selected for the team. With that level of unfamiliarity in play style, a slow start was always to be expected. However, behind some experience, a growing familiarity, and solid goaltending, Europe looked like a force on Wednesday night.
The same problems still remains, however, does the depth stand up to other high level teams? The performance by Leon Draisaitl certainly does inspire hope. Sweden likewise seemed to have trouble last night with that, as their bottom lines of Silfverberg, Soderberg, Hagelin, Berglund, and Backlund struggled at times. So perhaps Europe is not alone in their struggles to find proper depth. Europe also had a rought time at the dots against Sweden, winning just 40% of their faceoffs, with only Anze Kopitar being above 50%.
Sekera and Josi led the charge in terms of minutes for Europe off the backend, while Marian Hossa and Kopitar remained the team's top minute gathering forwards. Zuccarello, who was one of the lone bright spots in game one, saw his ice time fall to 14:41, a steady decrease from the 20 and 18 he logged in prelim games one and two. It was good to see Hossa contribute with some higher level play considering he has been reportedly battling a foot injury and was visibly struggling in Game One.
Kopitar, Tatar, and Vanek also added to the score sheet, furthering the success of the line juggling for Team Europe. Tatar was saddled on the first line with Anze Kopitar and Marian Hossa. Tatar's two point night saw him leap up to the tie for first place on Team Europe in scoring with three points. Marian Gaborik also added an assist to tie him for the team lead as well.
All things considered it was a massive win for the Europeans, who can now enter their group stage on a high note. They will need every bit of confidence, as they stand up to heavily favored Team USA for their first game in the group stage. Can Europe build on their strong performance against Sweden and challenge the U.S.? It seems far more likely today than it did two days ago, or at the start of the tournament.
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