Turin – Panic?
What panic, eh?
As sullen Canadian fans in Torino Espsosizioni talked of the “national nervous breakdown” that was surely breaking loose back home, players said the mood in Team Canada’s locker room was rock solid after a lackluster 2-0 loss to Finland on Sunday.
Never mind that Canada, with 18 NHL all-stars, now has not scored a goal in six straight periods. Or that its national fans are so picky, a 7-2 opening win over Italy drew double takes in the Great White North – because it wasn’t 15-2. Or that after a 2-0 loss to Switzerland on Saturday, the Canadians returned to Olympic ice with all the urgency of a snowplow driver in July.
“Everybody that plays for Team Canada, their expectations are high,” forward Ryan Smyth said. “We don’t need to apologize. We’re doing our best.”
“(This team) won’t go in different directions,” added team captain Joe Sakic. “We’re going to stay together. We’re going to have a good day, relax (today) and get ready for the Czechs (on Tuesday). That’s our last tuneup. We’ve got to be ready and we will.”
With one game remaining in the round-robin part of the Olympic tournament, Canada (2-2) has likely done enough work in Italy to clinch a spot in the eight-team quarterfinals. But while Sakic preached calmness and togetherness, he wasn’t ready to let his teammates walk away without a public scolding.
Canada fell behind early after first-period goals by Teemu Salanne and Niko Kapenen. The Finns then held their lead with gritty defensive work and conservative play in their end, always making sure that a puckhandler in trouble had a safe place to pass.
“We didn’t play very good,” said Sakic, who will wear a full visor after being cut on his left cheekbone Saturday. “We were standing around. I thought we were a little tentative out there. We didn’t have our legs.”
Finland has allowed only two goals in Turin – both by the Czech Republic – by skating the entire ice surface and sticking to a set-in-concrete line combination that has allowed the players to mesh, they said.
“It’s a nice little confidence boost for us,” Selanne said Sunday night. “But we weren’t surprised.”
