Did anyone really pick that the United States would be the only team out of those three that would win in regulation?
Liars.
United States 6, Norway 1
The US was too much to handle for Norway as they rolled to a 6-1 win in the noon (Vancouver) game. Phil Kessel scored early in the first period and Chris Drury provided what ended up as the game winning goal at 13:04 of the first. Patrick Kane scored for USA in the second period and I suppose as an American I can momentarily overlook his NHL club. Marius Holtet provided the lone goal for the Norwegians with a shorthanded goal. Ryan Malone would add a goal in the third with an assist from Ryan Miller, who faced a total of 11 shots. Brian Rafalski tallied two goals late in the third; the first a power play goal and then the second with under a minute to play.
Red Wings involved:
Brian Rafalski: 2 goals, +2, 3 shots on goal.
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen: -1 rating.
Canada 3, Switzerland 2 SO
Canada was supposed to overpower this Swiss team and sure they played very good possession hockey (Mike Babcock special) but the fact that it went to a shootout has many people questioning the ability of this team. Jonas Hiller, the Swiss goalie, played out of his mind (as usual) and had some truly incredible saves–stopping 44 of 46 (not counting the shootout). Canada put up two goals from the Shark line as Dany Heatley added his third of the Olympics and Patrick Marleau tallied early into the second period. The Swiss would storm back and tie the game with goals from Ivo Ruthermann and Patrick von Gunten. von Gunten’s goal tied the game with 10 seconds to play in the second period. During the shootout (another Babcock special) Sidney Crosby scored the ultimate game winner and Martin Brodeur stopped the final Swiss shooter.
No Red Wings involved.
Slovakia 2, Russia 1 SO
Like Canada, Russia was expected to overpower Slovakia but were unable to do so. Granted, Slovakia has a much higher level of talent on its roster than Switzerland but the Russian offense struggled against Jaroslav Halak. Alexei Morozov added the lone Russian goal on an absolute blast from the faceoff circle that Halak had little chance on. Pittsburgh and Detroit fan favorite (sarcasm) Marian Hossa tied the game midway through the third period and the game ultimately went to a shootout. Pavol Demitra–who assisted on Hossa’s goal–scored the game winner in the shootout. Jaroslav Halak was solid in net, stopping 36 of 37.
Red Wings involved:
Pavel Datsyuk, Russia: 2 SOG, shootout miss
