There is work to be done in order to get there, and probably a couple of upsets necessary along the way that is still a relatively long way off, but it is all set up now for the Olympics to climax with a pair of marquee games guaranteed to draw eyeballs to the rinks on your TV screen, even if as early as 7 a.m. Eastern.
It is set up for a United States-Canada battle for North American supremacy in what would be a Friday semifinal and then a U.S.-Russia rematch in what would be Sunday’s gold medal game.
Set up, that is, for the world’s spotlight, this best-on-best tournament at The Games that isn’t so much an interruption of the NHL season, but a global celebration of the NHL brand that is worth repeating (and beginning to understand how to exploit) every four years.
Yes, there is the matter of the U.S. and Canada surviving the quarterfinals, and of Russia, which has to play Norway in Tuesday’s qualifying round, getting through its side of the bracket that includes first-overall seed Sweden.
But if glamour is to accompany drama on the world stage, these are the two matchups central to the theme, though a Canada-Russia gold medal showdown that no doubt would evoke tales of 1972, Paul Henderson, Bobby Clarke Vladislav Tretiak and Valeri Kharlamov would certainly make for an acceptable alternate ending.
We’ve been down this path twice before with Team USA in the best-on-best Olympics that commenced in 1998. In 2002 in Salt Lake City and in 2010 in Vancouver, the Americans won their preliminary round group before advancing to the gold medal game and losing each time to Canada.
The U.S. seems to be playing this Olympic tournament as if the last one never really ended; as if Sidney Crosby never scored the overtime goal. The Yanks have looked seamless; like a team that not only knows its identity but is confident in it.
A not off-putting helping of swagger appears to have made the trip with the Americans, who have been strong in nets with 2012 Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick and 2010 silver medalist Ryan Miller; and very impressive with a blue line that moves the puck as well as it defends.
The forwards are deep, and both strong off the rush and on the puck. The Yanks want to use their speed, but they have adopted an infectious Red, White, Black-and-Blue mentality that manifests itself in all of the tough areas of the ice. There isn’t a player on the team who won’t sacrifice his body to make a play, or prevent one.
The U.S. won a gold star for being the most impressive team of the preliminary round. But a gold star isn’t currency that comes accompanied by a playing of the national anthem. The Yanks, who have been patient and outstanding with attention to detail, need to accelerate the tempo while maintaining their discipline in order to attain a natural progression of improvement.
Canada has looked beatable, even if it didn’t lose a game in the prelims, getting the same eight points off two regulation victories and one in overtime that the USA earned. The Canadians have not seemed particularly comfortable with who they are or have been.
This is nothing new at the Olympics for Canada, which actually had to play a qualification match in Vancouver four years ago before using that 8-2 victory over Germany as a springboard to home gold and who wobbled into the playoffs in 2002 off a 1-1-1 prelim round before winning gold that year.
Still, coach Mike Babcock has to find linemates for Sidney Crosby and the team will need to generate consistency beyond the skills of the puck moving, mobile defensemen in order to navigate this week’s step up in competition.
Russia would have to win its qualifier against last-overall seed Norway and then defeat Finland in the quarters before a hypothetical semifinal matchup against Sweden, led to the top-overall seed by Henrik Lundqvist. And then Russia would have to find a way to overcome The King in order to just get to the gold medal game that has been its manifest destiny since the July day in 2007 Sochi was announced as the site for these games.
But no one should underestimate the Russians. They have immense talent on their side; emotion and home pride as well. They, the U.S. and Canada have the ability to make this into a week of memories that would have a home on hockey’s marquee.