The final four teams are set, and they aren’t necessarily the four teams everyone expected. Defending gold medalist Sweden and pre-tournament favorite Russia are both gone, while the United States, Canada, Finland and Slovakia live on.

The U.S. got things started by winning a 2-0 nail-biter over Switzerland, once again riding the hot goaltending of Ryan Miller while Zach Parise scored both goals, the second an empty-netter. That was a surprise, nor was seeing Canada continuing its rebound by beating Russia. What was a shock was the ease of the victory, as the Canadians routed the Russians 7-3 in a game that was never competitive.

Finland, which will play the U.S. in the first semifinal on Friday, followed the Americans’ lead with a 2-0 win of its own over the Czech Republic. On the 30^th anniversary of Team USA’s win over Finland to clinch the gold in 1980, those two teams have set up a rematch for a shot at another Olympic title. Finland is the lone medalist from 2006 still standing, as Slovakia pulled off a mild upset in ending Sweden’s hopes of repeating with a 4-3 victory. Slovakia will take on Canada, the only team that has won gold since NHL players started competing remaining in the tournament, in the night game on Friday.

Some other thoughts on tonight’s quarterfinal action:

- Miller vs. Hiller. The opening game of the day was all about the goaltenders. The show Anaheim’s Jonas Hiller put on for Switzerland was easy to appreciate, as he almost singlehandedly lifted the Swiss into the semifinals as he stopped 42 of the 43 shots he faced. Miller’s stats were far less gaudy, but his 19-save shutout might actually have been even more impressive. It’s difficult for a goalie to get into a rhythm when facing so few shots (4 each in the first and second periods), and that’s even more true when the stakes are this high – a scoreless game in an elimination contest where every shot could be the difference.

- Has one player ever been involved in so many near goals in one game as Ryan Kesler in this one? He fired in the shot that bounced off and over Hiller into the net at the end of the second, but video reviews showed it cross the goal line after the buzzer. Then in the third, Switzerland appeared to have the tying goal with a shot off the inside of the far post, but Kesler cleared it out of the crease and play continued. At the other end of the ice, Ryan Suter scored on a point shot with Kesler providing the screen in front, but that goal was waved off as Kesler was called for interference for knocking Mathias Seger’s helmet off. The Swiss post shot was then reviewed, and that too was ruled no goal.

- Any doubts about Canada’s ability to rebound from the loss to the U.S. have been erased, as the hosts simply embarrassed pre-tournament favorite Russia, which will head home without a medal. Canada has outscored its opponents 15-5 in the two games since that loss. The Canadians have finally found some chemistry in their line combinations, with several of their goals being set up by beautiful passing plays. And the scariest thought might be that they put up seven goals on Russia without a point from Sidney Crosby. They did have 14 players pick up points in this one after 15 players had points against Germany. In the last two days, 18 of the 20 skaters on the roster have pick up at least one point. That’s a balanced attack that’s virtually impossible to defend when it’s clicking the way Canada has been the last two days.

- Bruins center Patrice Bergeron is one of the two Canadians without a point in those last two games, as he once again was used sparingly. Bergeron played primarily on the penalty kill and finished with a team-low 4:15 in ice-time, with no shots. He’s been relegated to the 13^th forward role, and with all four lines now producing, he might not see much more action in the next round.

- How nervous were the folks in Carolina and Washington in the third period of this one? While the folks in Canada had enough breathing room to feel secure in the third, fans of the Hurricanes and Capitals had to hold their breath when Eric Staal and Alex Ovechkin each went off hurt. Carolina is just playing for pride – and draft position – the rest of the year, but it still had to cause some worries when the Hurricanes franchise center slammed awkwardly into the boards – with a little help from a dirty nudge by Russian defenseman Anton Volchenkov. Staal stayed down in pain for a few minutes, but did return to the game later. Ovechkin also returned after injuring his hand when he was hit in the unpadded underside of his glove trying to catch a puck. He had ice on it while on the bench, but came back out for a late power play, much to the relief of the caps, who have a little more to play for than the Canes after the break.

- Caps fans probably didn’t like the late battle between Alexander Semin and Dan Boyle in the closing minutes either. Semin started it with a questionable hit on Boyle behind the goal, blasting the defenseman into the boards a bit high and late. There was no question that Boyle’s response crossed the line though, as he tracked down Semin and viscously slew-footed him to the ice. Neither appeared to be injured, but it was ugly way to end the game. As wonderful as the Olympic Game is, this is definitely one example where the NHL rules are superior and players can settle things with the gloves off rather than dangerous dirty plays like that. Of course, with the instigator rule in place, more and more players resort to such tactics instead anyway, so maybe the NHL isn’t so much better.

- So much for the latest highly-anticipated showdown between Crosby and Ovechkin. Crosby gets the bragging rights as Canada advances, just as his Penguins beat the Caps en route to the Cup last spring, but neither star had a memorable game. Crosby was pointless, and Ovechkin also failed to collect a point and was minus-2 in a very quiet 21:15.

- Mikka Kiprusoff gave Miller and Hiller a run for their money for best goaltending performance of the day, as he made 31 saves to shut out the Czechs. This game was about as even as possible, with the shots finishing at 31-31, the Finns holding an 11-10 edge in the first, the Czechs countering 11-10 in the second as the game remained scoreless, and finally both teams getting 10 shots on net in the third. The game-winner came on a point shot by Janne Niskala that Niklas Hagman tipped in front. Hagman was left alone because Pavel Kubina lost his helmet and went to retrieve it behind the net. Olympic rules mandate players can’t continue playing without their helmets. The Czechs compounded their problems by pulling goalie Tomas Vokoun too early, leading to the game-clinching empty-net goal with 1:35 left.

- Sweden and Slovakia looked destined for another low-scoring goalie battle after a scoreless first period. Sweden’s Henrik Lundqvist even set a record for the longest shutout streak in Olympic history, but that was broken 7:34 into the second by Rangers teammate Marian Gaborik, who almost missed the games after suffering a serious gash on his leg from Lundqvist’s skate in a collision in a New York practice. That was just the start of the fireworks, as the club’s scored five goals in the second and two in the third as Slovakia knocked off the defending gold medalists. Lundqvist ended up giving up four goals on just 14 shots as Sweden lost despite outshooting Slovakia 29-14.

- On the Bruins front, while Bergeron saw limited action, David Krejci was again the best player for the Czech Republic. He set up Patrik Elias early on for a bid, but Elias was robbed by Kiprusoff. Krejci then nearly had one himself with a backhander after sneaking out from behind the net. He finished with two shots in 19:10 and the Bruins will have to hope he carries that same high level of play through the end of the NHL season.

- Slovakian captain Zdeno Chara continues on after again logging a team-high 23:32. He chipped in an assist and had another physical game. This time he was dishing out more punishment than he was taking, including sending one unfortunate Swedish skater into the bench with a huge check in the first. Miroslav Satan couldn’t build off his game-winner from last night, finishing minus-2 with just one shot in 14:19. Rough day for Milan Jurcina as well, as he was a minus-1 as Henrik Zetterberg’s centering pass went in off Jurcina to make it 2-2, while Jozef Stumpel had no shots in 15:20.

- Sergei Gonchar did have a goal for Russia, but was a minus-2, while Sergei Zinovyev was also a minus-2 in just 8:59. Joe Thornton was held scoreless for Canada, with no shots in 12:43.

- Tim Thomas once again dressed as the backup for Miller in the U.S. game, with Jonathan Quick (Hamden, Conn.) the scratch. Chris Drury (Trumbull, Conn.) and Brooks Orpik (Braintree, Mass.) continued to play strong defense, while Ryan Whitney (Scituate, Mass.) played a team-low 6:01. Ex-bruin Phil Kessel had five shots in 10:01, including one of his patented toe-drag moves cutting to the middle after coming down the right side. He also hit the crossbar in the first and had a rebound later off the side of the net, but did draw a penalty on that play.

Semifinals, Friday

United States vs. Finland, 3 p.m. (NBC)

Slovakia vs. Canada, 9:30 p.m. (CNBC)

Tags: Olympics

posted: Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 2:41 am / Olympic Updates /
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