Just WOW!
Don't let their lack of facial hair fool you. Team North America is a hockey force to be reckoned with. They are a unique collection of young, fast, high-skilled, swashbuckling play makers.
Granted, it was only a pre-tournament exhibition game. However, the end result was a one-sided affair.
18,000 plus hockey fanatics jammed into the brand new barn in Quebec City to be entertained by the young stars, who did not disappoint.
Forget about being the future of the game. Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Nathan MacKinnon, Johnny Gaudreau, Auston Matthews and the rest of the U-23s are the present and future of the NHL.
The young bucks laid a man-sized ass kicking on the older, slower, more lethargic Zdeno Chara led Team Europe squad. The 39 year old veteran was victimized countless times by kids that are half his age and who play at a frenetic skating pace. Chara and his Euro mates just could not keep up. Speed kills.
Chara pic.twitter.com/hM0UwEHVmk
— SabresBuzz (@SabresBuzz) September 9, 2016
Team Eurpoe committed 19 turnovers largely due to the constant puck pressure and physicality of the young North Americans. Time and space was at a premium for the Europeans who just could not match the speed and creativity of the young stars.
Team North America potted three lightning fast goals in a span of 4:42 in the second period sealed the fate of the glacially slow Team Europe.
North America got second period goals from Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Johnny Gaudreau.
The kids on @TeamNA_WCH broke out in the second. Allllll the highlights. #WCH2016 pic.twitter.com/tcbtnhQxnN
— NHL (@NHL) September 9, 2016
MacKinnon also scored on a penalty shot in the late stages of the third period to give his Youngbloods the shutout win.
that was filthy pic.twitter.com/ixREqUiTkH
— Stephanie (@myregularface) September 9, 2016
Matt Murray made 23 saves on 23 shots faced.
Team Europe starting goalie Jaro Halak was under siege for large stretches of clock time. The Europe D-corps just could not contain the speed and skill of the younger, faster, more aggressive opponents.
The Europeans had only two practices with their full compliment of players as several players arrived late from the IIHF Olympic qualifying tournament last weekend in Latvia and Norway.
**
Buffalo Sabres fans should be wringing their hands with anticipation for the 2016-17 regular season after watching Eichel dominate stretches of the Team Europe game. Eichel played a complete, 200 by 85 foot game against Europe. Eichel dominated in all three zones. His skating was strong and powerful. He had an assist in 15:42 TOI.
Eichel told Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News that he and his young star teammates can extract a lot of memorable experiences from their first World Cup game.
"I think we were good in a lot of areas," Eichel said. "There's things to clean up but for the majority of us, it's our first game in five months and we can take a lot of positives out of it and just get better. It's day one and the first game we did a lot of good things.
"On Monday, we started practice and we were just getting to know each other. We're all young guys and we all come together pretty quickly. We're similar people, all hockey players. But it's nice to get a game under the belt with everyone and that makes us more comfortable with each other."
**
I have Team North America in my World Cup of Hockey Final 4:
1. Canada 2. Sweden 3. Russia 4. North America
***
Team Europe forward Marian Hossa left the exhibition game against North America for X-rays at a Quebec hospital, according to TVA Sports' Renaud Lavoie.
There's was update on the severity of the injury.
**
North America scratched forward Dylan Larkin, defenceman Colton Parayko and goalie Connor Hellebuyck. Europe sat out forward Thomas Vanek, rearguard Denis Seidenberg and goalie Philipp Grubauer.
***