Canada Manages Draw Against Slovakia

Canada took on Team Slovakia in their final exhibition match before the real games begin next week. After a very poor performance in the first period which saw the Canadians fall to a deficit of two goals, Team Canada tightened up their play over the next two periods and managed to tie the game at a score of two goals apiece. The game finished tied after the two teams could not decide the game in a five minute overtime period.

Martin Brodeur played the entire game for Team Canada and looked very solid making several strong saves throughout the game. His play in the exhibition games has left no doubt that he still deserves the number one job. Out of the lineup tonight were Ryan Smyth, Brendan Morrow and Patrick Marleau.

Coach Pat Quinn experimented with some different line combinations throughout the game leaving much uncertainty as to the way Team Canada’s lines will look once the real competition begins. Quinn will also have to decide which two defensemen will sit out as the lineups will shrink from twenty-two to only twenty players once the real competition begins.

Team Canada’s most effective player over the three exhibition games was arguably Vincent Lecavalier who scored two goals and participated actively on defense. Mario Lemieux looks to be in very good shape and played very well creating many scoring chances for his teammates. Robyn Regehr and Scott Niedermayer both played very well on defense. Regehr played in a way that was very reminiscent of the way he played for Calgary in the playoffs, engaging opponents physically and finishing his checks. Niedermayer is a tremendously skilled defenseman who showed his knack for creating offence with strong outlet passes.