Loading summary
Transcript64 lines
- [00:00]
Advertiser/Host
We all have moments where we could have done better. Like cutting your own hair. Yikes. Or forgetting sunscreen so now you look like a tomato. Ouch. Could have done better. Same goes for where you invest. Level up and invest smarter with Schwab. Get market insights, education and human help when you need it. Learn more@schwab.com if you're listening to this, you're ready. Ready to join the industrial intelligence generation. A generation defined not by age, but by but by a shared mindset to connect teams, accelerate efficiency and drive innovation. Using the power of Aviva software to reshape industries, turning real time insights into real world growth. Discover our stories@industrialintelligence.com join Generation I flowers die in three days matching underwear from Meundies. And that's a gift that lasts. Meundies creates matching prints for couples and friends. Same adorable designs in different cuts for each of you. All made from their signature ultra modal fabric that feels impossibly soft. With 30 million pairs sold and 90,000 five star reviews, MeUndies matching prints are the perfect gift. Valentine's Day is February 14th, so don't wait. Get exclusive deals up to 50% off at Meundies.com acast code ac acast that's Meundies.com acast Code acast.
- [01:43]
Jesse Granger
This is the Athletic Hockey Show. Hey everybody, it's the Athletic Hockey Show. Welcome in. We're doing a live show straight after the Olympic matches today on YouTube. Post game reaction from the United States and Latvia. Canada played earlier today. It's been an awesome day of day two of the men's tournament in Milan. I'm Jesse Granger coming to you from Las Vegas this afternoon. We're going to be joined by two time US Olympian 2010 silver medalist David Backus. He'll be coming up in a minute or two. But first, Dom Luchin joins me from Toronto. He's been watching the hockey over there. How's it going, Dom?
- [02:29]
Dom Luchin
It is going great. It was a great day of hockey for both of us in Toronto and in Las Vegas. You said afternoon. It is evening here on the east coast. But yeah, it was a great time.
- [02:41]
Jesse Granger
Yeah, you didn't have to get up as early as I did for the early game. So it's not evening for me now. But the time zone worked in your favor a few hours ago. I'm already dreading the 3am games we've got coming up. Going to be brutal, but like you said, some good hockey today. They were blowouts. The final scores do not indicate that there was Good hockey. But if you watch the games, they were fun. First we saw Switzerland shut out France 4 nothing. Earlier Canada blanked Czechia 5 nothing. The US struggled at first, but ended up putting it together and winning five to one. And then on the other game simultaneously we had Germany coming out on top. Just what's your overall takeaway from these games? Right off the bat.
- [03:22]
Dom Luchin
It went exactly as expected. I think I expected maybe Czechia to put up a little bit of a better fight and Canada just was completely dominant. A game where they, they, I don't think even they had their best stuff yet, but they, as the game went along, especially in the third period, they started really rolling and Czechia couldn't really generate anything with the US team. I was genuinely worried in the first half and then Brady Tkachuk laid that hit and I think the entire game changed after that. Like I. You hear a lot about like momentum shifts from a big hit and I don't think I've ever seen it in like that at that level where immediately after they looked like the Harlem Globetrotters.
- [04:08]
Jesse Granger
The one goal specifically it ended up on Nelson stick was actually Harlem Globetrotters. Like they had the uniform cup colors match the Globetrotters. They're passing it around. They didn't know who wanted to take the goal at the end. It was pretty spectacular. Let's, let's bring In David Backus, 15 year NHL career, two time Olympian. He won the silver for the US in Vancouver in 2010. Thanks so much for joining us, David.
- [04:31]
David Backus
Thanks for having me, man.
- [04:34]
Jesse Granger
What stood out to you about the hockey this morning? Obviously we saw Canada take care of business like Dom mentioned, made it look easy, maybe even not at their best against a team that I picked to win the bronze. I think this is a really good team and Canada made them look not so good this morning. What was your takeaway from that game?
- [04:52]
David Backus
Yeah, Canadians were dominant, not unexpected. And then the US had a little bit more adversity, I'd say more from, you know, challenges, the offsides and then the goalie interference kind of a. You wonder what's cooking when, when two goals get called back. When's the last time you saw a game with two consecutive goals in the first to get called back against the team that then scores after the first challenge. But they were resilient. They got a lot of their guys going. The defense with Quinn Hughes and Zach Barinsky. I mean it's electric to watch those guys move around, drive the offense, the power plays snapping around. I think Auston Matthews, even though it's the fifth goal in a 51 win for him to score. Get that touch. Know he needs to be a big time producer for the US to have success. He's. He's a big horse. He's a captain and, you know, it's a big moment for him. And he's a, He's, I think, underrated how big he is as a human and how forceful he could be if he just gets determined and says, nobody's stopping me. And I hope that's the mentality he gets as this tournament goes on.
- [06:06]
Jesse Granger
You mentioned how good the blue line looks. To me, that's like we're going to draw so many comparisons to four nations just because that's the most recent and really the only recent example we have of best on best. To me, the blue line. Quinn Hughes, man, he makes a big difference. He's doing it in Minnesota. That team looks totally different with him on the ice. And I think that the blue line is where I look at it when I say, okay, where is this US Team better? That's. That's kind of what stands out. What about you?
- [06:32]
David Backus
Yeah, I think they need to have better defense and better goaltending. And then, you know, that game. For me, playing Latvia in world championships, Latvia is not a slouch. I mean, they might have six NHL or so on the team and you go into there saying, we're going to win this game, but those guys work their absolute tails off. They don't shy away from any physicality. And I feel like the you, you know, and, and some of them are so motivated because truthfully, it's the biggest stage they've ever played on. Opportunities to get NHL contracts, perhaps. A lot of people watching them and they're playing it like it's Stanley cup finals while the US Teams assuming that they're going to win, but still a lot of work to be done. And I think that's what you saw a little bit in the first period. It was a little cute throughout with one more pass, one more pass rather than taking the shot, maybe finding a rebound and then getting to the hard areas. I think that's something where the US Needs to, you know, there's certainly a couple guys that are already there with the Kachuk and, you know, J.T. miller. Not scared of confrontation and going to the hard areas, but the skills got to get into those hard areas in order to score as this tournament goes on and the competition gets better.
- [07:48]
Dom Luchin
Yeah, the. That is something I noticed immediately, and that's why I was a little worried in the first half to the point that I went and checked how many slot shots the USA had halfway through the game and they were out shooting them, the Latvians at a certain point in like 2011, but the slot shots were six for Latvia. That hit happens from Kachuk. They wake up and I think they finished the game like 30 to 8. They completely dominate after they got more looks inside. They were very tentative and tepid early on, but that is definitely something that's going to be a key throughout this tournament. Where you looked at Canada's game against Czechia, almost every single shot that they were able to get was in the dirty area.
- [08:30]
David Backus
And I think that mentality is going to be the difference maker between a gold medal and not living up to expectations for him is saying, you know what, I do have maybe a third of an NHL season left when I get back, but none of that matters. I need to lay it all on the line. And if that's getting punched in the face after a whistle standing on top of a goaltender, you know the Chucks only get better when that happens to them. But is Auston Matthews going to say, I'm willing to do that. I'm going to go stand in front and take whatever abuse I need to to to jam one home or is, you know, he going to shy away and stay on the perimeter? Jack Eichel and these guys are all, all shown that they're willing to do it at times, but consistency and doing it on a regular basis and doing it every shift so that their team can win, that's the difference maker to me. I think they're going to have the best goaltending and the best defense perhaps in the, in the tournament from a defensive standpoint. And now that's a, that's a huge factor in what I'm looking for for the rest of the tournament.
- [09:31]
Jesse Granger
To, to both your points. It felt like the line that played the most direct hockey was that fourth line. And I'm not going to lie. When the, when the line combinations came out and I saw J.T. miller, Brock Nelson and Jack Hughes on a line, I'm sitting there thinking like, what is this line supposed to be? I have no idea what's going on. And then they get on the ice and they're just imit immediately great. They were the best line in the game, I thought. And may is to what you guys are saying, maybe it's just playing more direct hockey, not trying to make that extra pass. I mean they did make some beautiful passes, but that that line was just absolutely Dominant today.
- [10:02]
David Backus
Yeah, there's a lot that. That works with that line. And Jack Hughes had the puck a lot. If he, if you added two to his number, I would have sworn it was Patrick Kane out there, the way he controlled the puck. So Shifty sees the ice, he makes plays and just drives the lines. Offense. Brock Nelson, obviously with two goals, well, three, one disallowed. But he had an awesome start to the tournament where I feel like he's just going to feel it from here on in. And J.T. miller does a ton of the dirty work that's not necessarily on the score sheet, but a guy that, you know, knows what it takes to get to, you know, deep in playoff runs and. And such, being with Tampa, and he knows what it takes to say whether he scores a goal in this tournament or not. He's a guy that's going to be a big factor with some of the intangibles.
- [10:53]
Dom Luchin
I like Jack Hughes a lot today, and I. It feels like an interesting question. Like that fourth line was so good. Do you keep it together? Was Jackie was so awesome that maybe you shift him up into the top nine now after. I think he answered some of the worries after the four Nations.
- [11:10]
David Backus
I don't think you mess with it after tonight. I think you got to get to. You probably have. And my guess is Sullivan's got a couple combinations on his. On his scorecard. I know Ken Hitchcock always had three sets of. Of lines. He's had tie game, up by a goal, down by a goal. That's what I got on my, on my lineup card. And I'm sure that exists in the US Coaching staff, but for now, it was a. It was a good start. You see who's feeling it. My question is, is there a time when you mix in 13th forward, 14th forward, you know, the, the 8D guys that are not playing yet because you want everyone to get a little taste. And my guess is that they do that in the next two games, not because anyone played poorly today, but just because if someone gets hurt or down the stretch, it comes to the gold medal game and somebody can't go for whatever reason, they might have their arm blown off if, if you're not going to play in the gold medal game, but that could be an opportunity to say, well, we've. We've. Everyone's got a taste and this guy's just going to be inserted, not have jitters of his first Olympic appearance or anything like that. And they've got Denmark and Germany, I believe, coming up where they can probably afford to shift guys in and out, not disrupt anything in the lineup and forge forward.
- [12:29]
Jesse Granger
We were talking about this before we jumped on about just the different roles that these guys, especially with the, the additional roster, you've got guys who are not playing very minimum and it's like they're barely getting shifts. And these are guys who are used to playing every shift for their NHL team. You've been through that. You've, like, you've been through Olympic tournaments where you're. Maybe your role is not the same as you're used to. How quickly can guys adjust to that and how much of a challenge is that to not be on the ice as much as you're used to and still be able to find your game?
- [12:56]
David Backus
Yeah, the lack of ice time, I think is the most difficult thing because rather than being in a groove and being out there every third time, now you're a fourth liner and you're going to play maybe eight minutes or 10 minutes because the international game, your top line doesn't need to play 20 plus minutes because everyone's so good that you can spread out a little bit more. But when you're, you know, playing three or four shifts a period, that, that's a tough thing to just have your motor going at all times other than the stage where you're so excited and so honored that you finding ways to, to keep the motor revving on the bench or jumping up and down or you know, skating during the TV timeouts to just keep your legs going. So that's different. But role wise, I feel like everyone's so versed like Vinnie Trocheck that, you know, plays, plays bigger minutes. But in this, he's certainly capable of killing penalties, winning face offs and he's, he's had to play that role at certain times and he's, he's going to be able to do that for USA in this, in this tournament for sure.
- [14:00]
Dom Luchin
I think one of the other challenges also, and maybe we saw this early on with usa is in a tournament like this, everyone always talks about finding chemistry and gelling early and the two brother combos being so good off the bat, I think speaks to that. What was your experience like in 2010, finding that chemistry and how, how difficult was that?
- [14:24]
David Backus
Well, to. Furthermore, furthermore, in international play, NHL play, you get 20 on the, on the bench. In international play, 22. So typically you have 13 forwards and 7 D. And I think that's tough for the coaching staff and it's certainly tough for the players. But I was on the fourth line in 2010 with four guys. So it was myself, Ryan Callahan, Chris Drury, and Bobby Ryan. And so not only are you looking for chemistry with guys you never played with, but now the line looks different almost every time you go out there. Is it a face off on the left hand side? Well, Drury was really good at winning face offs on his forehand, so he would go, or I would go on the wing and Bobby Ryan would have to sit. And it was just a. I don't know how they figured it out, but we were able to just, you know, between the four of us, look at each other and say we're probably not going to get a ton of minutes. And that means when we're out there, we got to be impactful. We got to go a million miles an hour and we got to make our stamps on this game in, in every second that we get on the ice. And I feel like we did a pretty good job of that as a, as a unit. And we're able to, you know, score quite a, you know, quite a few goals, in my opinion, for a fourth line to at, at integral parts of games, especially at the beginnings of them, to get everyone going and to, you know, start us in the right direction.
- [15:42]
Jesse Granger
Before we let you go, I want to shift a little bit to off the ice. We, we saw, and it's kind of quieted down now that we actually have hockey to break down. But before it was such a big story. The way the two different approaches the US And Canadian teams are are taking to this. The US Are kind of embracing the dorm mentality, living in the Olympic Village. Canada prefers to have more of what it's used to in the, in the hotels. You, you went through two Olympics. How do you compare the two experiences? And, and what are these guys going through, living in the Olympic Village and dealing with all of that on top of the hockey?
- [16:16]
David Backus
Well, I feel like this was way more thought out because when we got to both Olympics, I think we got there, had one practice and we were into games already. It seems like a couple of the guys made it for opening ceremony, so they've been there for five or six days. Able to get a couple more practices in. You see the Chuck brothers getting a picture with Snoop Dogg. I love that they're embracing that Olympic spirit and they're just totally living in the moment and enjoying themselves. To me, there's a, an aura around the village that's just special. You're, you're at the cafeteria, you're seeing other athletes that have just competed or that are, you know, famous in Their own. Right. We're getting to say hi and getting to meet a bunch of people. Vancouver was unique in that it's such an accessible city. It's North America. It's really safe. And we were in the Village, but we played almost every game was a 12:15 game for USA. So we'd wake up, play the game. Now you got the rest of the day with nothing, you know, on your schedule. You're able to go walk around with your family. You can go see some of the cool stuff in Vancouver, go take in other Olympic events, knowing that the next day you likely have a practice and then you're dialed in after the practice for probably a team dinner that night. And then we're up early getting ready for that 12:15 game the next day. And it was a great rhythm for us, but we got to really enjoy the. The whole city of Vancouver in the Olympic atmosphere all around. There still spent plenty of time in the Village, but it was more accessible and there felt like more stuff to do around. In Sochi was a. It was a tense time between the US And Russia, between the world and Russia, which that hasn't changed a ton in recent history. But we were very warned against leaving, you know, secure areas, which was the Village, the athletic stadiums where events were being hosted and then where our parents were being hosted was secure as well. So kind of between the two of them on buses. And it felt more of like a, you know, confined type of, I don't want to say cage, but you were very confined and restricted on where you could go. So it was village out to these. There's also some accessible, safe areas where like Procter and Gamble would host a Team USA house and you could go there and get food and see other athletes and watch big screen TVs and just be comfortable in lounge. USA Hockey would have their space. The Players association had their space. So between those areas, you tried to just embrace it, you know, do what you needed to do athletically, obviously, first to prepare for the next event and soak in that aura. I, I wasn't actually aware that Canada was staying in hotels. Not in the Village, I assume.
- [19:02]
Jesse Granger
Yeah, yeah, they, they. I think they, they did a couple days there just to see what it was like. And then they're like, let's go to the, let's go to the hotels that we're used to staying at.
- [19:08]
David Backus
All right, well, I don't know if they're used to staying at any Italian hotels, but maybe they are.
- [19:13]
Jesse Granger
Fair enough. What, what's your.
- [19:16]
David Backus
We'll see we'll see. It's, it's one of those unique experiences that I wouldn't have changed staying in the village and, and, you know, for any hotel, to tell you the truth, because it's such an awesome experience that that's just not replicated anywhere.
- [19:32]
Jesse Granger
What's your favorite non hockey winter Olympic sport, whether it's something you got to see when you were in Vancouver or just something you like watching on TV these days?
- [19:40]
David Backus
I went to ski jumping in Vancouver and Whistler. That was the only other event I got to hockey being. We landed again one practice right into the Games. And then the gold medal game was the last event of the Olympics that year, right over to the closing ceremonies after that. So I did. I only got to go up there for a brief stint to see some ski jumping, but I, I'm captivated by some of the, the figure skating. The team competition was awesome to watch this year. Then the speed skating, the ice events really get me. And so do the, the downhill skiing, because when you get some of those drone shots from the rear view of these athletes, you start to see the, the steepness of the mountain. And it's not, certainly not like anything I've ever been on. It's probably, I, I'd be shaking my knees at the top and wouldn't want to go down with how steep these hills are. And then you see they're going 80, 90 miles an hour, turning as hard as they can. Like that gives you a real respect. And, and I've heard, you know, a couple of my buddies saying that they should have, like, average high school athlete do it alongside of these Olympians just so you can see how spectacular they are. And, you know, the, the couch couch potato who's, who's yelling at the American who finishes eighth in the cross country, whatever the 15 kilometer skiing event would be like, oh, maybe they are still a special athlete even though they're eighth because the Norwegians are out of this world or whatever it is. So I, I, I'm really captivated by all of it. I see the skill and the time that's put in and love the storylines that are being told and also the, you know, seeing some of the heartbreak when, when some of these people, you know, finish fourth or get DQ'd or don't get to finish their disciplines because the next chance is four years from now at the earliest, if that ever comes again. And this is once in a lifetime for a lot of these people.
- [21:41]
Jesse Granger
Awesome. Well, thanks so much for joining us, David. Really appreciate it. We'll let you go enjoy the rest of the games and you're welcome to come back and join us anytime.
- [21:50]
David Backus
I appreciate you guys. There'll be, there'll be hopefully a U.S. canada final and I'm only gonna bust out the the closing ceremonies Ralph Lauren gear if that happens. And I'll wear it all. I'll wear it all around town that day if that happens. So we'll see.
- [22:08]
Jesse Granger
Amazing. Thanks, David.
- [22:10]
David Backus
Cheers.
- [22:13]
Mint Mobile Spokesperson
Every group has someone who insists on doing things the hard way. That friend still paying for a subscription they forgot they had the one refusing to update their phones because it still works. I used to be that person too, especially when it came to overpaying for wireless. But then I switched to Mint Mobile and I'm so glad I did. I'm saving money and it's simple and honestly, it's just better than my previous carrier. I say to you, stop paying way too much for wireless just because that's how it's always been. Mynt exists purely to fix that. With a seven day money back guarantee and customer satisfaction ratings in the mid-90s, Mint makes it easy to try it and see why people don't go back. And let me tell you this, I'm not going back. I am very happy with the quality of Mint Mobile's wireless service, especially in comparison to my old provider. Plus I'm saving a lot of money. Are you ready to stop paying more than you have to? New customers can make the switch today and for a limited time get unlimited premium wireless for just $15 a month. Switch now@mintmobile.com NHLShow that's mintmobile.com NHLShow Upfront payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 for 12 month Plan required $15 a month equivalent taxes and fees are extra. Initial plan term only. Over 50gb may slow when network is busy. Capable device required. Availability, speed and coverage varies. Additional terms apply. See mintmobile.com.
- [23:51]
Advertiser/Host
We all have moments where we could have done better. Like cutting your own hair. Yikes. Or forgetting sunscreen so now you look like a tomato. Ouch. Could have done better. Same goes for where you invest. Level up and invest smarter with Schwab. Get market insights, education and human help when you need it. Learn more@schwab.com hi, this is Kim Holderness from the Laugh Lines podcast. Let's talk about spring break. You might be thinking, oh no Kim, nothing good happens on spring break. Well, I'm here to tell you it's time to redefine our vacation Time. We all deserve a getaway that is meaningful but doesn't require a ton of planning. Spring break isn't what it used to be. It's better this spring. Stay three nights and get a $50 Best Western gift card. Life's a trip. Make the most of it at best Western. Visit bestwestern.com for complete terms and conditions.
- [24:44]
Jesse Granger
The one thing he said that I totally agree with is the drone shots completely change the way you view. Like, I. I've been watching these events my whole life. Like, the same exact events. You see the one drone shot with the drone following the guy, and it's like, this is infinitely more dangerous than I. Than I had pictured in my head prior to seeing that view.
- [25:03]
Dom Luchin
Yeah, I had no idea it was like, that wild. I feel like every Olympics, they add, like, some new angle, some new technology that, like, changes the game and shows you exactly how crazy it all is. And the drone, I think, is. Might be one of the most memorable ones with how unreal downhill skiing looks from, like, that close.
- [25:27]
Jesse Granger
It's. I will say the humming of the drone is so annoying, but it's worth it for the shots that we get. I was like, the first, like, 20 minutes, I'm like, what is that noise? And then I finally realized it's the. It's the humming of the drone engine. All right, let's get back to some hockey. The game that kind of. I don't know how much of you of it you got to watch. Obviously, it's going on at the same time as the USA. I had the double TVs going Germany and Denmark. I thought Denmark was the, like, if you just totality, who's controlling the game, who's controlling possession? I think Denmark was the better team. The difference ends up being, and not surprising, Germany has two superstars and they. They don't need a bunch of chances. They only need a couple. And they. They had a couple and they made them all count dry. Seidel scores 23 seconds in. Stutzle scores a couple.
- [26:10]
Dom Luchin
It.
- [26:11]
Jesse Granger
That Germany team is fun. They. They don't have many pieces, but the pieces they've got are. Are. Not only are they good, but they seem to be in good form right now.
- [26:19]
Dom Luchin
Yeah, they're a sleeper team. I think they're a genuine metal dark horse. If they get second in group C, they either get a buy or they get France or Italy in the play in. If Slovakia keeps doing its thing, there's a chance they play Slovakia in the quarterfinal. Germany. Germany has a path and they have those two Superstars. And I know you can speak to Grubauer's return to form this year as well where he's been. Unreal. You have a trifecta of guys who I think can get Germany to their best ever in the NHL era, obviously at the Olympics. And dry Seidel, amazing. I didn't get to watch a lot of that game. I had both of them on the screen at the same time. But I was more dialed in on the US team. But I, I've liked Germany's chances from the get go. I think a lot of their non NHL guys are pretty strong defensively where it'll be a bit tougher to get chances to score on this team. And if you have Sider leading the way and then Draisaitl and Stutzla and Paterka as weapons up front, they, they can make some noise.
- [27:32]
Jesse Granger
Yeah, Grubauer, man, what a story. He, it's, it's kind of in the corner in Seattle, so it's not like front of everyone's like mind, but the guy had fallen off a cliff. Like he gets that Vezina finalist year for Colorado. Seattle gives him the bag and he's been like, there's no other way to put it. He's been the worst goalie in the entire NHL for basically three straight seasons. Like his statistics are, have been like almost unbelievably bad for the Kraken. And then Joey Decord comes in and he's so good. It makes like it, it makes the perception of Grubauer even worse. At his age, after that many years of struggling, I think it's. Most people probably assumed his days of being a like high end goalie are, are, are past him and all of a sudden he's been great for Seattle this year. He looks so much more patient. Like I, I felt like over the last few years he just looked like he was guessing on a lot of plays. And he just looks like he's, he's not trying to jump the play. He's just kind of reading the play like letting it happen and then reacting and, and he's always had like great, he has a great glove hand. He's got great reaction time. To me it just looks like he's a little more patient. And then he goes into this game and like I said, Denmark had, they had the advantage in possession. They had more shots. I didn't think Grubauer had to make any like grade A10 bell saves. But he, he made the saves easy. Like he didn't, he didn't create A bunch of rebounds in front of him. He took care of all the shots and made it look easy back there. Like you said, they've got the pieces. If Grubauer is good, that team, that team's dangerous. And so far, he has been good. He hasn't given us a reason recently to believe that he's not going to continue doing this. So great form for that team. All right, next. Do you want. You want to talk more US or do you want to talk Canada right now?
- [29:11]
Dom Luchin
Might as well talk. And I feel like we've been a very US heavy podcast right now, and it would be a disservice to my country if I didn't speak about Canada a little bit.
- [29:22]
Jesse Granger
Let's talk about that team. They had a power play goal where Kale McCarr, Cale McCarr passed it to Sidney or Connor McDavid, who then passed it to Sidney Crosby, who then passed it to Nathan McKinnon who scored. And by the way, the other guy on the ice who didn't touch the puck, it was Sam Reinhart, who has more power play goals than any player in the NHL over the last three seasons. What in the heck are you supposed to do to defend this team? It seems impossible. It's unreal the amount of talent they can put on the ice at once.
- [29:52]
Dom Luchin
I think not taking penalties is a big one, and Czechia did that fairly well. I thought they played a pretty clean game. There was definitely a missed call on McKinnon cross checking. I forget who was just right in the ribs. Yeah, the main thing is just don't. But then you run the risk of letting them dominate you at five on five. So it's a. It's a tough balance to strike, especially with the blended NHL IIHF rules. But I, I wonder what's going through Reinhardt's head during that power play where he just has a front row seat to some of the greatest Canadian talent of all time just doing their thing. Like, he's probably just like, that was. That was sick. Great to be a part of it. I. Yeah, that was special. I. That power play unit makes me excited to watch power plays. Like, I. I'm fending for them. I want more. I want to see them really just get a lot of power plays and just work the puck around the way they were.
- [30:52]
Jesse Granger
Yeah, I mean, that win was so impressive. The U.S. like we mentioned, they kind of struggled early, and it was also not the same caliber of opponent. I think you said the same. We both picked Czechia to win bronze. I think they're Right there with Sweden, if not better than Sweden and Finland and for, for Canada to handle them. Like, we've seen a lot of blowouts, but to me this one's different because they handled a team that I think is going to do really well in this tournament. It just different level of competition and yet they still probably look the most impressive of any team in the tournament so far.
- [31:21]
Dom Luchin
Yeah, and I, I, like I said, I don't think this is their final form. I was impressed by Jordan Binnington. I thought he, it was great and relieving to see him get a shutout and play well. I was a little concerned about his rebound control because I think that's where Czechia did get a lot of their chances. But he didn't let any softies. He was pretty composed. There were some erratic moments, but you, you got to expect that a little with Binnington and if that's the guy they're getting, then I, I'm, I'm fine. I feel, I feel good. I feel confident. And it helps that the defense in front is so strong that you, they just don't let a lot of chances through anyway.
- [32:04]
Jesse Granger
Right. And you mentioned the rebound control and that's where I was going to go with Bennington because I agree that it was encouraging. But I also saw a lot of the same things that I've seen in St. Louis this year. I wrote about Bennington going into this tournament in his form, and to me, I watched his last five games and what stood out is, I think because he's not playing particularly well, the puck's not hitting him, he's playing more aggressive and like Bennington's not. He doesn't play on his goal line. Normally he's a pretty aggressive goalie, but I think he's been playing even more aggressive an extra 6 inches outside of his crease than he normally would just hoping to the puck. If the closer I can get to the puck, the more likely it is to hit me. I think that's kind of a. His, his mechanism for trying to work his way out of this slump is by playing more aggressive. And what that's leading to behind St. Louis is he's making the initial save, but the further out you go, the worst position you're going to be in for a rebound attempt. And St. Louis is allowed, I think, the seventh fewest rebounds of any team in the league, and yet they've allowed the third most goals on rebounds of any team in the league. And to me, that is a product of Bennington playing more aggressively further out and we saw a lot of that in the game today against Czechia. The difference is every one of those rebounds, he's got a superstar defenseman boxing out and taking care of it. Now when, when it gets to the game that matters and it's the Kachuks around him is that are they going to be able to clean up those rebounds as good? So like, I guess my, my overall thoughts are it's an encouraging start for Bennington but, but it doesn't completely wash away the worries because I, I specifically saw the things that are worrying me about his game still showed up even in a shutout.
- [33:35]
Dom Luchin
Yeah, Yeah. I am still hoping they go with Thompson. It might be hard to convince after Bennington gets a shutout, but there, there are some, some yellow flags perhaps and they're, they're red flags in St. Louis, but behind Canada's defense, I would, I would go yellow and as long as the defense is playing well in front, I think they'll be okay. One thing I, I, I noticed when I, as I wrote about Bennington, how afraid I was of him starting is he was a net for Canada against Denmark. That was a pretty stacked world championship team. And the game winning goal was I think a very poor Bennington rebound. And he was on his goal line, but he just puts it right in front of the net that I, I know a lot of people like to bring up the four nations as him being this big game goalie and he definitely delivered. But there's other instances since that how I think put that into question and if you bring it together as rebound control there, there are still a lot of things unanswered. But it was a, overall, it's hard not to be encouraged by the shutout.
- [34:40]
David Backus
Right.
- [34:40]
Jesse Granger
Shut out in the Olympics. And it was like, like we said, it's against a legitimate opponent. It's not like they just crush some team that had no chance. Like Czechia's got NHL guys there, there. I will say my, my optimism on Czechia after watching them play. And I know it's against Canada, so everybody's going to look bad. But the depth is more concerning than I thought. Like the top line is dangerous when they're out there. When the top line's not out there, there's, there's not a lot going on. We'll see what they look like against human opponents. But against the superhuman Canadian team, they, the, the depth is more concerning than I thought. We were mentioning some goalies. I, I just wanted to give a shout out to two of the, the, this is A this is kind of an Olympic storyline that we see pretty much every time this comes around. Even with the NHL. We saw Damian Clara put up an awesome game before getting hurt. Hopefully it's not too bad for him for Italy. He was absolutely spectacular. That's the most I've gotten to watch of him. I I know about him. I know he was second round pick for, for Anaheim. I know they, they think very highly of him. He's a monster of a human and man he moves well for how big he is. If you're a Ducks fan, you've got Lukas Dostahl who is to me I'm probably higher on Doe Stahl than anyone but maybe his parents. I think he's a top five goalie in the league and like I'm driving the Doe stall bandwagon these top five goalie. I think he's going to win a couple Vezinas in his career. And then you've got Clara sitting like coming, coming in the wings that they know what they're doing in Anaheim with the goalie scouting.
- [36:02]
Dom Luchin
Yeah, for sure. I that was one of the funnest blowouts I've ever seen in my life. It was just a complete onslaught of Swedish offense and it didn't matter because Clara was there and it wasn't like the Italians were defending well and keeping it to the outside like Slovakia was to an extent against Finland, like it was. These were grade AAA chances and he was there and it was amazing to see.
- [36:34]
Advertiser/Host
We all have moments where we could have done better. Like cutting your own hair. Yikes. Or forgetting sunscreen so now you look like a tomato. Ouch. Could have done better. Same goes for where you invest. Level up and invest smarter with Schwab. Get market insights, education and human help when you need it. Learn more@schwab.com shipping, billing, admin, payroll, marketing. You're managing all the things, so why waste time sending important documents the old fashioned way? Mail and ship when you want, how you want with stamps.com print postage on demand 247 and schedule pickups from your office or home. Save up to 90% with automated rate shopping. That's why over 1 million small businesses trust stamps.com. go to stamps.com and you and use code podcast to try stamps.com risk free for 60 days.
- [37:24]
Jesse Granger
If you're the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. All right, let's wrap up today's show with our own version of the shootout. Since it is the Olympics and we're not to the gold medal game yet, so they haven't. We haven't gotten rid of the shootout yet. We're going to do three questions, quick fire for Dom and we'll start with kind of a bit of a downer. We'll get this one out of the way. Josh Morrissey, the only negative really to take for Canada of that game, leaves the game, doesn't return. What does that mean for their blue line? Obviously they're stacked, but hurting him or losing him is obviously going to hurt.
- [38:24]
Dom Luchin
I would have been a lot more worried if I didn't see Thomas Harley be awesome again in his Olympic debut. He was incredible. He looked like his four nation self. He looked like his last year's version and I think him being able to step up into that role. They still have Shea Theodore compared directly to the US I think there's a hole behind Kale Makar where they have Quinn Hughes and Zach Orensky, but the way Harley played is encouraging. Obviously you want Josh Morey by Morrissey, but I think Canada has the guys to maybe handle the injury.
- [39:00]
Jesse Granger
All right, next up, we've seen a game from everyone. You obviously had your predetermined notions going into this tournament. Is there anything that stands out in terms of like what has changed your opinion the most? We saw Finland lose a game that was a shocker. We saw Sweden struggle maybe more than we expected. We saw Czechia get handled by Canada at least better than I expected them to. Is there anything after one round of games that you suddenly feel differently than you did before this thing started?
- [39:27]
Dom Luchin
I am worried about Finland. I they have a reputation for being a team that is pesky, that plays above its means, that is better than the sum of its parts. And now that they have talent and they are a favorite, it seems like they don't really know how to handle that. I did not like the way they really played against Slovakia. I didn't really like the way the coach used his best players. I think having ran an eighth in minutes is a baffling decision. I don't care if he doesn't look that great during the game. It's your that is your star like you should lean on him in a game where you're trailing for for most of the game. And I, I definitely thought that with the reputation of being better than some of the parts, everything would come together and they would be a really tough out. But if they're going to be doing that and if UC Sorrows keeps looking like he has for the last three years, that definitely changes things in terms of the, the upper hierarchy.
- [40:28]
Jesse Granger
All right. And I'm going to like the last question more than you will. We, we watched the rivalry series between the women's US And Canada and the US Handled them and I kind of wondered like are, is the gap really that big? And then we get to this first game and I look, look, I know there are injuries on the Canadian side and I'll be honest, it almost looked like they were kind of punting that game. Like we're injured. Let's just get through this and we'll, we'll get them when it matters. Where's your confidence level at that? This is going to be a competitive game. When these teams play, we assume they're going to meet again. How competitive is this going to be? It hasn't been competitive for a while now.
- [41:03]
Dom Luchin
I am Canadian and I've seen, I've seen the women's team dominate before. I've seen Pullen be amazing. I've seen Debian be a brick wall. I am worried, but I still believe I, I think with blend lineup they'll be a lot better. I think with the gold medal online they will take care of business. But it is genuinely worrying how similar that looked to the rivalry series because I wasn't someone who put a lot.
- [41:33]
Jesse Granger
Of stock to it.
- [41:34]
Dom Luchin
We, we have a model for projections for that tournament and that's not something I really consider because it just felt like a tune up and it looks like that. And that's unfortunate. A lot of Canadians are complaining that the team they brought wasn't young enough, wasn't skilled enough. It wasn't the best team. And that's a somewhat valid concern. But if you look at like Canada's like under 23 crop of talent, there's a massive, massive gap between them in America. And I think that is the big story is you are seeing USA's gener like a golden generation hockey come together with Murphy and Harvey and Canada just does not have anyone at the NCAA level playing anywhere close to that level. And it's just they could have brought Chloe from Rano. They it she wouldn't have. I don't think she would have been ready for a tournament like this and she would have been nowhere close to someone like Harvey, obviously, that, it just doesn't make a difference when USA has like a trifecta of elite elites, almost like generational players coming up.
- [42:42]
Jesse Granger
The speed was what stood out. It was the speed difference between the sides was drastic. It's gonna be interesting. I hope, I hope they find a way to like claw their way into that game. And it's, it's, it's a competitive game because that's the highlight of, I mean, like before we had NHL players. That was like the only highlight of hockey in the Olympics. And now, I hope, I hope that stands up to what we're doing getting on the men's side. It's obviously been exciting. Awesome. Well, this has been great. Thanks, Dom. Thanks to former Olympian David Backus for joining us and producer Jeff Domet and you at home for watching and listening. Our next show will be Sunday night after the German US game. I will be on there with Max and hopefully Mark Lazarus who will be joining us from Italy for that show. Enjoy the Olympics, everybody.
- [43:31]
Advertiser/Host
We all have moments where we could have done better. Like cutting your own hair. Yikes. Or forgetting sunscreen. So now you look like a tomato. Ouch. Could have done better. Same goes for where you invest. Level up and invest smarter with Schwab. Get market insights, education and human help when you need it. Learn more@schwab.com if you're an H Vac technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [44:20]
Jesse Granger
A password manager should be the first security purchase you make for your team. Why? Because compromised passwords are the number one way bad actors attack companies, and small businesses are their favorite targets. But unlike a lot of security challenges, passwords actually have a pretty simple solution. 1Password lets you manage all your business's credentials so you can feel confident that your data stays secure as your company grows. Find out more@1Password.com specialoffer and start securing every login.