Team Canada

[mikey287]

It's because Cindy Crysby is a whiner!

Does he seriously still have that reputation in Canada?

You should have seen the amount of people calling him a diver after that penalty he drew against Finland.

That was a bit of a flop it seemed at live speed...I didn't look at it again, but it was one of those where there was a penalty taking place but it was also augmented by Sid turning up the gravity on himself...

[shmenguin]

He embellished. He didn't dive. Venom should be reserved for diving.

[tfrizz]

It's because Cindy Crysby is a whiner!

Does he seriously still have that reputation in Canada?

You should have seen the amount of people calling him a diver after that penalty he drew against Finland.

That was a bit of a flop it seemed at live speed...I didn't look at it again, but it was one of those where there was a penalty taking place but it was also augmented by Sid turning up the gravity on himself...

He definitely embellished, but as Matt Duchesne pointed out today - the refs seems to have forgot how to call obstruction penalties.

[tfrizz]

Elliotte Friedman: Why is Sidney Crosby so hard to play with?

Report: Crosby has had 9 different pairs of wingers in 9 Olympic games (10 in 10 now);
Marian Hossa said that Crosby has the puck on his backhand so much that it makes him hard to play with (Bergeron says no);
Anonymous Team Canada player said that Crosby is simply too hard to keep up with.

[superconan]

Did Hossa find it hard or need time to adjust (more then 15 minutes)? His playoff point total playing along Sid is the best of his career.

[meow]

Hossa is one of the most intelligent and most consistent players in the league. I'm not surprised he stuck right away.

[tfrizz]

Did Hossa find it hard or need time to adjust (more then 15 minutes)? His playoff point total playing along Sid is the best of his career.

Putting up points doesn't mean he didn't find Sid hard to play with.

[pcm]

IIRC, it took Hossa and Sid about 10-15 games to figure things out together.

I gather that Sid's not difficult to play with, just different. So it takes players some adjustment period.

[tifosi77]

It's difficult for players to find chemistry with elite talents. When elite meshes with elite, you get magic - Gretzky-Kurri, Trotts-Bossy. But often as not, it's a guy who, for whatever reason, just has a knack for the read-and-react aspect of playing with a great player. How many of us would have thought Duper and Kunitz would be staples on Sid's wings? Neither is a standout NHLer, but both can play an uptempo, puck-possession game and that's a great mesh for a player like Crosby.

That's why Mario had wingers like Brown and Errey. (Also because the Pens didn't really have an elite talent on wing for the first five, six years of his career) But when he played with Stevens (who was, for a time, the best power forward in the game) and Jagr (one of the best wingers ever) there was some mesmerizing play going on.

Chemistry is just a weird thing. I also think part of it is Mike Babcock's coaching style.

[Pruezy11881]

Tavares is done for the year now.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=444273" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Penspal]

Can't wait for Canada to lose and all the good Crosby did in the last Olympics will be like it never happened. There are far too many north of the boarder who would love to see Sid fail and will jump all over him the first chance they get.

It's sad really.

You think?

That was an iconic moment for Canada. I think his legacy or whatever is cemented among Canadians as far as Olympic glory goes -- no matter what happens in Sochi or anywhere else.

As a Canadian, I don't. They're already crucifying him for his lack of offense through the preliminary round of these Olympics. Though, those same people turn around and say that Toews (1 point) and Tavares (0 points) have been Canada's best forwards.

People will believe what the media tells them. Its boring to say... "Sid played exceptionally well defensively, won 65% of his draws and really wore down the other team's top defenders". Naturally there are going to be media "experts" who claim that Sid is not scoring, slumping and X is his fault. Well, what the hell is X? Canada has 4 wins, no losses.

IF Canada had of gotten a few goal lead like the Americans have (some goals were lucky), then the game changes, and its much easier to score. Olympic hockey is a very different version of hockey. Latvia, Switzerland, etc are implementing systems that successfully execute team defensive systems that limit all players.

If Sid/Kuni score a key goal to win a Gold/Bronze, they will be remembered for it like Sid was for the "golden goal".

[shmenguin]

Latvia, Switzerland, etc are implementing systems that successfully execute team defensive systems that limit all players.

as far as i could tell, latvia's system was to give everyone on canada unlimited opportunities to score. let's not pretend these are quality opponents. aside from finland, the teams they're playing against aren't good. they're actually really terrible. the goalie played out of his mind yesterday, but generally, the lack of scoring for certain players is due to clumsy partnerships and lack of continuity for guys who are used to getting 25 minutes a game. not anything the other team is doing. sid would take any of the top pairings he's seen in the olympics over pretty much any top pairing he'd see in the NHL on a nightly basis.

[MRandall25]

Latvia's system was so good, they gave up 57 shots against.


Yes, that is sarcasm.

[Pitts]

Anonymous Team Canada player said that Crosby is simply too hard to keep up with.

That wasn't anonymous. I read an interview with Perry (I thought), he said basically that Sid plays the game so fast its very hard to keep up with him and anticipate plays. He said Sid thinks the game at a different level of speed than everyone else.

[tfrizz]

Anonymous Team Canada player said that Crosby is simply too hard to keep up with.

That wasn't anonymous. I read an interview with Perry (I thought), he said basically that Sid plays the game so fast its very hard to keep up with him and anticipate plays. He said Sid thinks the game at a different level of speed than everyone else.

Ok. The reports I had seen didn't name names. I don't think that statement comes as a shock to anyone who watches Sid play regularly - the guy's got one speed.

[meow]

It is sad that Sid gets so much flak for basically being that much better than everyone else.

[tfrizz]

It is sad that Sid gets so much flak for basically being that much better than everyone else.

The worst is that people are convinced that he's not playing well because he's not putting up points. Yet he's been very noticeable in all aspects of the game - offensively, defensively, faceoffs, etc. He just can't seem to make his way onto the scoresheet.

[Cu11en]

Anonymous Team Canada player said that Crosby is simply too hard to keep up with.

I remember thinking the exact same thing two years ago...about the entire Pens team.

[SolidSnake]

That's cause Sid's last name isn't spelled T O E W S

[shmenguin]

toews was better yesterday, but i thought sid was also pretty great

[dodint]

It is sad that Sid gets so much flak for basically being that much better than everyone else.

For conversations sake, if Sid outplays his wings everywhere he goes wouldn't a true sign of greatness be his ability to adapt his own game to fit his surroundings? In a tournament like this they've tried most viable combinations so there probably won't be a complimentary winger coming for the last two games. Shouldn't Sid dial it back to accomidate, or is his going full bore and wearing down the oppositions top line valuable enough to just let him go even if his linemates might not be able to get in position?

I think Sid's playing well, but I keep hearing 'he's just so good we can't play with him' which is an odd backhanded compliment. It seems like a great player could adapt and get the most out of those around him, wheras a good player just keeps toiling at what he does hoping everyone else can catch up.

[meow]

I see where you are going, but you try telling the best player in the world to tone it down. Good luck.

[dodint]

Yeah, I know. I guess a better way to rephrase it is "Is Babcock happy with Sid wearing down the opposition by going full speed, or would he rather Sid find my syngery with his own linemates?" I wasn't implying any criticism to Sid, it kind of sounds that way though.

[Idoit40fans]

I'm guessing that question will be able to be answered on Friday.

[IntangibleBeer]

It's difficult for players to find chemistry with elite talents. When elite meshes with elite, you get magic - Gretzky-Kurri, Trotts-Bossy. But often as not, it's a guy who, for whatever reason, just has a knack for the read-and-react aspect of playing with a great player. How many of us would have thought Duper and Kunitz would be staples on Sid's wings? Neither is a standout NHLer, but both can play an uptempo, puck-possession game and that's a great mesh for a player like Crosby.

That's why Mario had wingers like Brown and Errey. (Also because the Pens didn't really have an elite talent on wing for the first five, six years of his career) But when he played with Stevens (who was, for a time, the best power forward in the game) and Jagr (one of the best wingers ever) there was some mesmerizing play going on.

Chemistry is just a weird thing. I also think part of it is Mike Babcock's coaching style.

Good point about Duper and Kunitz. Ditto for Mario's generation. Brown had a knack for scoring. Errey was (at one point) the fastest player on the team, a terrific forechecker, and hit everything in sight despite being small.