World Cup Final Recap and Preview

World Cup Final Game 1 Recap; Game 2 Preview

         Before we move on to talk about tonight’s upcoming game, let us first recap how team Canada put themselves on the verge of a World Cup championship. Canada continued their winning ways by beating team Europe in game 1 of the best-of-3 World Cup finals on Tuesday night.

         Canada jumped to an early lead just 2:33 into the game right after killing off a European power play. Just seconds after Brad Marchand exited the penalty box, Patrice Bergeron, his teammate from Boston, was on a semi-breakaway and fed the puck to him at the side of the net where he roofed it. Canada extended their lead to 2-0 when Ryan Getzlaf stole the puck from big Zdeno Chara and gave a perfect pass to Steven Stamkos at 13:20, who put the puck up and over the sprawling Halak.

         The goal by the Toronto native was his first point of the tournament. For the rest of the 1^st period, Canada appeared to be putting on a clinic as they spent a lot of time in Europe’s zone while constantly peppering Halak with shots. In the 2^nd period, though, Europe showed that they were by no means out of the game. At 7:00, Tomas Tatar scored after Dennis Seidenberg’s long-range shot on Carey Price produced a rebound that went right to him.

         Tatar had scored Europe’s previous 3 goals. This goal of his was particularly important because it gave Europe the spark they needed while sucking life out of the building for the home team. Though team Europe continued their strong play for the rest of the period, they were unable to find the tying goal. They kept pushing for a goal, but Canada was able to weather the storm.

         Canada created a little more breathing room for themselves at 9:24 of the 3^rd when Sidney Crosby found Bergeron in the slot with a centering pass. Bergeron quickly put the puck in off of a one-time shot Halak had no chance of stopping. The Crosby line, which had powered Canada throughout the tournament, was rolling again. Team Canada proved too much for Europe to handle, as they would finish with a 3-1 victory.

         Though Europe lost, they had a lot of positive takeaways from the game. The score was a lot closer than many, including me, were expecting. They kept it close, which was probably a concern for team Canada, who usually dominates opponents. That wasn’t the case in game 1. Veteran Anze Kopitar even said that the game against Canada was Europe’s strongest performance of the tournament.

         For tonight’s game, I predict Canada will win the World Cup by beating Europe in another close game. However, Europe is a stronger team than many realize, and they shouldn’t be underestimated. While chances are low they will beat Canada tonight, I certainly see it as a possibility. The way I see it, all Canada needs to do to win is to score early and keep the crowd energized. The only way Europe wins is if Halak stands on his head and the offense steps up to score some timely goals.