re: TEAM USA WINS GOLD | USA 2 Canada 1 FINAL/OT | Gold Medal Game | Olympic Hockey

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Sweden will overcome this but how do you let Italy score two goals?
This could make a difference in the knockout seeding

Sweden v Italy is a good game. Crowd is into it

I've been an Avalanche fan since '98, and got to watch the man who perfected that style (Patrick Roy). I don't ever remember a time in all these years where the traditional style outnumbered the butterfly. Goalies sucked before Roy made it popular, and once it caught on, it spread fast.

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Hasek was probably the wildest of all of them. That guy was absolutely insane.

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Try to track down footage of the '98 Olympic tournament. The goalies that year were insane. Canada brought a team with Roy, CuJo, and Brodeur at goalie yet lost to Hasek who played out of his mind in the semis and GMF. After getting knocked out, the US trashed their lodging after being eliminated and were told to go home...ironically the Tkachuk brother's dad was one of the main guys responsible for the damage.

Even before '98, 1990s Olympic hockey was peak. I pretended to be sick just so I could stay home and watch the USA vs the Unified/Soviet team in '92. So many good players that developed during the cold war were still playing for their national teams... many of whom grew up in the aftermath of the 1980 tournament.

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Has the butterfly technique become the preferred style of goaltending? I remember certain goalies that were successful with it, but they were outnumbered by the more traditional style.

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Yes, much more common now. Definitely the predominant style over traditional in today’s NHL. Cover the lower portion of the net sufficiently and challenge the shooters to pick the upper corners.

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track down footage of the '98 Olympic tournament.

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I remember Nagano pretty well. And I remember Tkachuk from the Coyotes days with Jeremy Roenick. He was always a solid player, but also always seemed to not have the star power as other guys on the ice, from Roenick on his own team to Modano, Yzerman, Sakic, etc. Even the Ducks had a better duo with Kariya and Teemu, IMO.

I got to see Hasek in person once, after he'd gone to the Red Wings. I got to see Roberto Luongo around the same time, and he made Hasek seem old. It was kinda sad, because I still played pick-up games in my early twenties at the time. It made me feel old like I'd lost a step in net.

I'm 43 now and still have a full set of goalie gear I break out every now and then when we're messing arouond at work

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Roy was fantastic. I started playing street hockey in north La as a kid in the early 90s and pretty quickly moved to goalie. Became a Stars fan in their inaugural season, but watched a ton of Habs and Avs games. There were so many good goalies in the 90s that had their own styles. Hasek was probably the wildest of all of them. That guy was absolutely insane.

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Yeah, Hasek couldn't be defined by a particular style, he was undoubtedly the greatest athlete ever to play in net, and he used that athleticism to play with reckless abandon. He was fun to watch in his prime. I hated when he went to the Red Wings, because you can guess how I felt about that team. Of course, Hasek was in his 40's by that time, but managed to win a cup with them.

That period of time from the mid 90's to the mid 2000's was, in my opinion, the golden age of the modern NHL. The Avs, Wings, Stars, and Devils were the cream of the crop, and the rivalries and hall of famers stacked on those teams were fantastic. Then came the salary cap (and aging out of some of those players), and it all blew up. I still love hockey, I just miss those days. I'm fired up to finally watch Olympic hockey with NHL players again.

Feels like a playoff game - love it

Still cannot believe Canada not only brought Binnington, but is starting him Game 1.

Celebrini is everywhere - he is special

Kinda long post coming, but in advance of the U.S.’s game against Latvia, I figured I’d give a bit of info on their starting goalie today: Elvis Merzlikins. Elvis has been a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets (huge fan) for the past 7 seasons. When he’s on, he can really be on. But, as a whole, he’s been extremely inconsistent (“bad”) for the past 4ish years.

Living up to his name, Elvis is a bit of a showman and prone to the theatrical. It’s pretty divisive among the fanbase, especially when he’s not playing well, but I’m a big fan. He’s pretty big in the net and extremely athletic. However, he frequently struggles with positioning. The combination of those two things can make for some spectacular saves, but he can also make saves harder than they need to be/give up rebounds… or not make the save at all.

Relatedly, he struggles sometimes when teams get the puck moving, and can get caught up in traffic/chaos near his crease; he has a tendency to get flustered and lose focus easily. He can handle the puck pretty well but because of that is sometimes prone to being a little reckless when it comes to playing the puck behind the goal/near the corners. Finally, he frequently seems to allow a goal or two very early (like first 5 shots / first 5 mins) but if he can get through that, he usually settles in. And when he’s locked in / focused, the combo of his size/athleticism/competitiveness can cause him to catch fire.

Honestly, he’s a lot like Baker Mayfield. Equally likely to make “WTF” (positive) as “WTF” (negative) plays. Generally a “good” guy, but extremely emotional and wears his heart on his sleeve. That can both elevate his play and cause him to meltdown, at different times. CBJ fired the coach about a month ago and in his first game under the new coach he played his best game in months, and in the live, in-arena interview in front of the fans, he answered a question by just saying “New Coach.” It’s now a bit of a meme/joke among the fanbase.

Might be a lot of info (maybe too much) for the preliminary game against a team like Latvia haha, but take it as you will.