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What To Look For: Canada vs Czech Republic

September 17, 2016, 11:31 AM ET [3 Comments]
Wilson: Team Canada
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Team Canada will officially start their tournament tonight when they take on the Czech Republic. Heading into the tournament Canada is the clear favorite, at least according to the people who set the odds.

"Fancy stat" projections also favor Canada




Dom's prediction model was outrageously good in the Stanley Cup playoffs this year.

Another thing in Canada's favor is the fact that this tournament was created by the NHL. A business that operates out of North America. The way that they've set up these groupings is incredibly advantageous for Canada and to a lesser extent the United States. Canada's opponent tonight is one of the weaker teams in the tournament and Team Europe isn't on the top half either. In Group B one of Sweden, North America, or Russia is guaranteed to miss out after the round robin play.

Here are some things to look for entering tonight's game against the Czech Republic

Can the Czech's Create Offense

Looking at the rosters for each of the teams in this tournament you can find at least one line that looks really good. I don't think you can say the same for the Czech team. Without the legend that is Jaromir Jagr their offense doesn't have the look of a team capable of putting up consistent offense.




Making their task harder is the fact their defense corp. is incredibly underwhelming and probably won't be putting the forwards in a lot of great spots heading up the ice.

How Will Mike Babcock Allocate Ice Time

During the round robin play Mike Babcock spread the wealth with his even-strength ice time and why not? He gave each player the opportunity to get acclimated with the team and how he wants things run. That makes complete sense. Will that trend continue now that the games matter? If the Crosby line continues to shred their competition will Babcock reward their play with increased minutes? It is something to track as the tournament moves on.

Which Carey Price Will Be In Net?

Carey Price looked shaky in his first game in over nine months when he played against the Americans. He looked the opposite against Russia. If Carey Price is able to show the same form he showed in stuffing backdoor Alex Ovechkin chances it is light's out for the Czechs.

Goalie God Mode

Realistically the only chance the Czech Republic has in this game is if Michal Neuvirth goes into God Mode. I predict that the Canadians will be bombarding the offensive zone with an incredibly high volume of shot attempts. So far in the exhibition schedule Canada has at times shown the inability to finish their chances. On April 22nd Neuvirth faced off against the Capitals and faced 44 shots. He stopped all of them. He'll need to dig deep and find that kind of performance again.

Enjoy the game. It is scheduled for 8PM on Sportnet and ESPNEWS. I'll have a breakdown tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!
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