Team Canada once again rules the hockey world, as they dominated Team Sweden in a 3-0 victory in the Gold medal game at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia on Sunday.
Jonathan Toews, Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz scored for Canada, who end the tournament with a perfect 6-0 record, defeating Norway, Austria, Finland, Latvia, the United States and Sweden to capture their third Gold medal in Men’s Hockey in the last four Olympics.
Carey Price made 24 saves for his second straight shutout and ended the tournament with a shutout streak of 164 minutes and 19 seconds, as Team Canada allowed only three goals the entire tournament.
Sweden was at a disadvantage already in Sochi, as they lost top center Henrik Zetterberg to a herniated disc injury after the first game, but suffered another setback when Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom could not play in the decisive game due to reportedly a migraine headache, but after the game Yahoo's Greg Wyshynski reports that Backstrom was unable to play because of a violation of anti-doping rules after using the over-the-counter drug Claritin, which contains a banned substance.
The first period was fairly even, as Sweden’s Gustav Nyquist drove to the net and backhanded the puck past Price but off the post. The iron also denied Canada’s Patrice Bergeron later in the period.
Canada scored the only goal they would need at 12:55 of the first, as Jeff Carter fed a goalmouth pass to Toews, who deflected the puck past Swedish goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who faced 36 shots on the night.
Detroit Red Wings blueliner Jonathan Ericsson made critical defensive errors in the middle frame that put the game out of reach, as an ill-advised pinch resulted in a 2-on-1 break that Canada almost scored on, but minutes later his error in judgment allowed Crosby to get a breakaway, who backhanded the puck past Lundqvist for his first goal of the Olympics.
Sweden was forced to take more risks in the third period to try to get back into the game, but nothing seemed to work against the stifling Canadian team defense, which was the primary reason why they were so successful in Sochi. Midway through the period, the much-maligned Kunitz, who was selected for the team mainly to play with Pittsburgh linemate Crosby, stole the puck from a Swedish forward and fired a screened wrist past “king Henrik….
CONGRATULATIONS CANADA!!!!!!!!
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