VANCOUVER — How’s this for a joke by the universe?
Ryan Miller’s next NHL game for the Sabres is tomorrow in Pittsburgh against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
Yep, the same Crosby who beat Miller for an overtime goal yesterday to deny the Americans a gold medal and put a blemish on the goalie’s outstanding Olympic tournament.
PHOTOS: CANADA BEATS U.S. IN OVERTIME, 3-2
“[Miller is] pretty down, but there’s no chance we’re here without the way he played the whole tournament,” said Chris Drury, Miller’s former teammate with the Sabres. “It’s heartbreaking to lose in OT of a gold-medal game, but he should be proud of everything he did the last two weeks.”
Crosby’s goal came 7:40 into overtime of another outstanding performance by Miller. He made 36 saves in a hostile arena and was named tournament MVP. That didn’t help ease the disappointment of the 3-2 loss.
“I’m just very frustrated,” Miller said. “We got ourselves in a position to win from two goals down. Sudden death kind of stings, especially in this situation. I was happy, proud, the way I handled myself these two weeks.”
This was the first loss of the tournament for Miller. He played nearly every minute of Team USA’s six games. He sat out the second half of the third period of the 6-1 semifinal victory over Finland. In the tournament, he faced 147 shots and stopped 139.
“He was unbelievable all week, all day today, all tournament,” teammate Zach Parise said. “He was awesome. He was a lot of the reason we were here tonight.”
Miller’s best game came in the preliminary round against Canada on Feb. 21. Miller made 42 saves in the Americans’ 5-3 victory and Brian Burke, the general manager of the U.S. team, said Miller “stole the game” for his squad.
Miller made some huge saves yesterday, including six in overtime. When Jarome Iginla’s pass found Crosby in the left circle, Miller was left with no protection. The puck went between his legs on Crosby’s shot, and Miller dropped to the ice.
“I’ve been aggressive all tournament and I wasn’t going to change my game just because we were in overtime,” Miller said.
The first two goals of the game were a result of breakdowns by the defense in front of Miller.
“This was a classic hockey game, just as our game was a week ago,” U.S. coach Ron Wilson said. “Ryan gave us a chance to win, and unfortunately we didn’t.”