For some Blues players in the Olympics, their quest for gold has come up short, as their teams have been eliminated from medal contention.
Jaroslav Halak has been in the middle of controversy with Slovakia. Halak was lit up against USA as we pulled. Halak played in two games, was pulled twice, and finished the tournament with a 5.13 goals against average and a 857 save percentage.
Now many will immediately look at Halak's numbers and say he sucked, which isn't true. Halak didn't play a great tournament, however if anyone watched the game, they would know that the defense was absolutely atrocious. Zdeno Chara was basically invisible the entire tournament. The rest of the defense was basically invisible. The Slovaks, in my opinion, had the worst defense of the entire tournament. Then a questionable decision to play Jan Laco over Jaroslav Halak in the elimination game.
The biggest surprise was to find out that the Slovakian coach told Halak he was finished with the Slovakian olympic team, yet dressed him as a back up during the elimination game. Blues fans have to hope that this shows Slovakia what he's made of and plays his heart out when he gets back to St. Louis.
Vladimir Tarasenko and the offensively powered Russia are also out of the tournament. After suffering a defeat to Finland in the elimination game, many questioned out Russia's head coach, Zinetula Zilyaletdinov's decisions to basically eliminate the bottom six forwards for the entire third period against Finland. To finish the game, being down 3-1, Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Semin, Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Radulov, and Pavel Datsyuk played almost the entire third period. Alexei Tereschenko, Nikolai Kulemin, and Artem Anisimov played sparingly during the third. Meanwhile Vladimir Tarasenko, Viktor Tikhonov, and Alexander Popov basically sat the entire third period. Tarasenko sat a good portion of the second period as well.
Now the biggest question, for Blues fans at least, is why Bilyaletdinov sat Tarasenko. Well he isn't as flashy as Semin or Radulov, he's not as offensively talented as Ovechkin, Malkin, and Datsyuk. Yet, how many goals did Ovechkin and Malkin score outside of the first four minutes of the tournament?
Tarasenko was never given the chance to succeed in Sochi. When he played, he played mostly in defensive situations, which he did very well in. However when there was an offensive chance, you'd see Bilyaletdinov put Ovechkin, Malkin, and the rest of the "dynamic" Russians on the ice. Needless to say, the Russians couldn't put the puck in the net and struggled the entire Olympic's to score.
Tarasenko ended the tournament, playing five games, recording one assist and adding four shots.
Alexander Steen and Patrik Berglund have both played well for Sweden, and are set to face off against Finland in the semifinals. Steen has registered a goal and two assists, playing on the top line for Sweden, while Berglund has notched two goals and an assist to help push Sweden to the medal rounds. Both Steen and Berglund have provided timely goals for Sweden and they've been very good defensively. Berglund has anchored the third line for Sweden and has been a rock defensively. Blues fans has seen the growth that Berglund has had in his defensive game, and Sweden has benefited from it. The offense has been an added bonus for both Berglund and the Swedes.
Alex Pietrangelo and Jay Bouwmeester have both been strong for team Canada. Paired together like they are in St. Louis, they've played more of a defensive role than getting the offensive chances. Both have played strong, shut down hockey and have used their mobility to help them transition the play up the ice. Only Pietrangelo has recorded a point, as he has one assist in four games. He's a +2 with eight shots on goal in the four games. Bouwmeester, also a +2, has registered six shots on goal in four games. If Canada wants to stop team USA's offense, both Pietrangelo and Bouwmeester will need to be strong and not allow USA to gain control and cycle in the offensive zone.
Kevin Shattenkirk has really blossomed during the Olympics. Paired with Cam Fowler, Shattenkirk's game as been top notch. He's been more than adequate in the defensive zone, and his offensive instincts have been key for team USA. Shattenkirk has registered three assists in four games for USA, as well as notching six shots on goal. He's been given tough minutes and as excelled with those minutes. He's been one of the better USA defenders in the tournament.
David Backes has been a leader for USA in their four games thus far as well. Though he's not wearing a letter, many have said he's been THE leader for USA. He's registered three goals and an assist in the four games USA has played, and he's thrown eight shots on goal as well. He's been a physical force, and has anchored the "animal line" for USA. With Ryan Callahan and Dustin Brown on his wings, Backes has really been driving the boat, offensivley and defensively for that line. They play the hard minutes and Backes was essential in shutting down Tomas Plekenec, Roman Cervenka, and Jaromir Jagr in the elimination game against the Czech Republic. He's expected to play a big role in tomorrow's match against the Canadian's.
Lastly, we look at T.J. Oshie, who's turned into a Olympic star for team USA. While only registering three assists in the tournament thus far, Oshie will be known for his role in USA's win over Russia.
The game was tight the entire way through, and after overtime solved nothing, T.J. Oshie went to work in the shootout. He shot first and scored five hole on Sergei Bobrovsky. Evgeni Malkin shot next for Russia and was stopped by Jonathan Quick.
James VanRiemsdyk and Pavel Datsyuk shot in the second round, both being stopped by the opposing goalie. Joe Pavelski had a chance to win it for USA in the third round, but was stopped by Bobrovsky. Ilya Kovalchuk tied it after beating Quick to the glove side.
Olympic rules are a little different from the NHL. In the Olympic's, whichever team shoots first in the first three shots, will then shoot second in the extra rounds. Along with that, after the first three shooters, the respective teams can choose whoever they want to shoot, even if the player has already shot.
It took an extra five rounds to finish the game, and T.J. Oshie shot all five times for the USA. He scored on three of the five shots, including the game winning goal in the shootout for USA. Within minutes, Oshie was trending worldwide on twitter and became a national star for the United States. It was certainly a coming out party for Oshie, as now the entire world has seen how fancy he can be and how well he can control the puck, something that Blues fans already know.
Expect an update tomorrow after the USA/Canada game, as I'll break down both games that take place tomorrow.
GO USA