Canada 3, Norway 1
-Re-watch the game here
BULLET POINTS: After an uninspiring first period, Canada scored twice in the second and after a Patrick Thoresen goal brought Norway within one early in the third, relied on a slick Drew Doughty backhander to ice the game after he stickhandled the puck through the slot and beat three defenders (gif = here). It wasn’t an emphatic victory by the tournament favorites against an international minnow, nor was it one that placed them atop Group B. Because of a superior goal differential, that spot belongs to Finland.
DOUGHTY: One goal, one assist, two shots on goal, a plus two rating, and a team-high 20:41 of ice time. He was paired primarily with San Jose defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and furthered the California love by scoring his goal off a Ryan Getzlaf feed. There were multiple situations in which Canada iced an all-Californian lineup.
CARTER: After leading all forwards with 5:29 of ice time in the first period, his usage decreased over the final 40 minutes. He finished with 22 shifts, which veered towards the high end of the 19-23 shifts earned by Canada’s top nine forwards. He was held without a point and was not on the ice for any goals. His best opportunity came in the first period off a feed from Sidney Crosby, though the puck was rolling and he missed the net.
THEIR WORDS: “We got better as the game went on,” said defenceman Alex Pietrangelo, as reported by Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail. “Anytime you’re playing with a new group, there’s going to be a little bit of a feeling-out period there. I think we got a lot better as the game went along. I thought we got our legs underneath us. Things can only get better from here.”
NEXT GAME: Canada vs Austria, Friday, February 14, 9:00 a.m. PT, USA Network
LAKings.com recap
IIHF game sheet
Photos of the game
Tweets and notes:
Don Cherry’s outfit today for Canada-NORWAY hockey game today pic.twitter.com/7vNIUIDo8M (H/T @chrisdoyle)
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) February 13, 2014
Doughty made the Norwegian defender looked like he was a beer leaguer, no offense to beer leaguers everywhere.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) February 13, 2014
Canada has an all-California lineup on the ice right now: Getzlaf, Perry, Marleau, Doughty and Vlasic.
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) February 13, 2014
Now it’s an all-California penalty-kill for Canada: Carter, Marleau, Doughty and Vlasic.
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) February 13, 2014
They have Kiss Cam here. Ugh. Colleague @ChrisKuc promises to abolish it when he becomes head of the International Olympic Committee.
— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) February 13, 2014
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