Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.24

www.afootinthecrease.com

Our Olympic games. When will we be able to say that again? For the past seventeen days, Canada as a nation has come together in a way that it seldom has before and likely, seldom will again. This was our chance, for a fleeting period in time, to have all eyes on us, not having to compete for attention with anything else. We had to get it right and boy did we ever.

This was about far more than just medals, although Canada unquestionably did get it done in that department, this was about the chance for our nation to show the world who we really are and to make them understand why Canada is one of the best places on earth.

We showed them we were a passionate nation. Incomparable crowds on the streets of Vancouver and Whistler until well into the night, not just on the weekends but throughout all seventeen days. These crowds for the most part though, purely blissful, happy and patriotic. In recent memory, can anyone recall such an outpouring of support?

We showed we were a courageous nation. Who wasn’t deeply moved when watching figure skater Joannie Rochette skate to a bronze medal just days after her mother passed away unexpectedly? When she broke down following her short program, it was like this whole nation wanted to give her a hug.

You see, as a people, we live for these opportunities for patriotism, for camaraderie, for these chances to stand up and embrace something we can be so proud of, not just something that matters to us in our personal worlds but something that means so much to all of us collectively as a country.

Thing is though, we get so few of these moments, and even fewer where these moments take place in our own backyard. For the last seventeen days, it was almost like Canada was just letting it all out. The world noticed, our athletes, noticed, we as a nation noticed. Who doesn’t wish the magic could go on forever. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.23

www.afootinthecrease.com

Remember back, oh say eight years ago, when there were really only six countries – Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland, Russia and the Czech Republic – that had a legitimate shot at winning Olympic medals in hockey? Well really, after what Belarus did to Sweden in Salt Lake City in 2002, I guess you’d have to say twelve years ago in 1998 in Nagano, Japan.

In 2006 at the Torino Olympic Games, Switzerland did the unthinkable and knocked off hockey giant and defending Olympic gold medalists at the time Team Canada by a score of 2-0. This may have been the first indication that the “Big Six” countries were no longer alone in their battle for three Olympic Medals. They had company now and it was coming fast.

Now at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, it is clear that several new countries have jumped to the fore and no longer can be viewed as nuisances in between games against the old superpowers. Switzerland, Slovakia, Germany, and Belarus have all held their own to this point in the men’s Olympic hockey tournament.

The Swiss gave the USA all they could handle in a 3-1 loss and pushed Canada to the brink in a shootout. Belarus very nearly knocked off Sweden once again before eventually falling 4-2 while Germany also gave Sweden some trouble before the Swedes managed to squeak out a 2-0 win. That all world offensively powerful Russian team? Well they lost to the one-time ignored Slovaks 2-1.

In Switzerland and Slovakia’s case, they boast top tier NHL netminders in Jonas Hiller and Jaroslav Halak, respectively, that in a short tournament, can be the difference between winning and losing all by themselves. The Germans feature a sprinkling of solid NHL talent and are very well coached by former NHL defenseman Uwe Krupp. Ditto for the Belarusians that feature a handful of decent NHLers.

It’s shaping up to be the best Olympics Hockey Tournament yet. The women’s side could only dream of this kind of competition. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.22

www.afootinthecrease.com

As the National Hockey League goes on hiatus for the next two weeks as the Olympics hockey tournament gets underway, it’s high time we weigh in with our opinions regarding Team Canada’s men’s hockey team.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the first thing the team will have to deal with before worrying about the competition from any of the other countries involved will be the pressure faced by the twenty three men carrying the hopes of a nation on their shoulders. If you thought there was pressure on their shoulders in Nagano or Salt Lake or Torino, it pales in comparison to what they will face with the tournament on home soil.

The opening ceremony on Friday night was watched by over two thirds of all Canadians. Can you imagine how many viewers there will be should Canada reach the gold medal game? Well safe to say the record currently held by the opening ceremony as the most watched Canadian TV event in history could be in jeopardy.

In order to have success with so much of the competition having improved over the last decade, it will come down to two things: the ability to come together as a team quickly and quite simply, goaltending.

In Torino, the team never gelled. The team must quickly show an ability to define roles and adapt to perform them with efficiency. Players used to being front line players in the NHL will have to get used to role players. There isn’t room for four first lines.

Secondly, in a short, one game elimination style tournament, goaltending is critical. There is no time to fight back over the course of a seven game series. Canada will need one of Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo or Marc-Andre Fleury to step up and be dominant. In goal in the Olympic tournament, there is no room for error.

Clearly, anything short of gold will be a disappointment for Team Canada but make no mistake; the path to gold will be anything but easy. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.21

www.afootinthecrease.com

Well that was quite a debut for Jean-Sebastien Giguere, was it not? Yet to allow a goal as a Maple Leaf through two games, Giguere’s two consecutive shutouts have made him the first goaltender in Leaf history to start his Leaf career in such a fashion.

Dion Phaneuf’s presence has added a very noticeable degree of energy and a rather ornery quality that has spread throughout the Maple Leafs defense corps. Most noticeably though has been the improved play of Luke Schenn which surely has had a lot to do with the arrival of Phaneuf.

All of a sudden Leaf fans have somewhere new to direct their attention and with a marquee name like Phaneuf on the roster, he will certainly attract a lot of that attention. Over the past month or so, Schenn has begun to emerge from a season long sophomore slump but there is no debating he has played his best hockey, especially the past two home games, in the last week since Phaneuf and Giguere arrived in town.

Now able to fly under the radar, Schenn is exuding the confidence he very much lacked earlier in the season when his shortcomings were constantly placed under the microscope. In the last week, the young defenseman has been infected with that disagreeable quality Phaneuf has brought and has started reminding people why he was “The Human Eraser” during his junior career.

Keeping his game simple has allowed Schenn to avoid costly turnovers and move the puck with efficiency like he seemed to do effortlessly during his rookie campaign. A pair of well timed jumps up into the rush against the Senators on Saturday night gave him his first career multi goal game.

Perhaps it’s the reassurance of playing in front of the rock solid Giguere or perhaps it’s the energizing presence of Phaneuf but so far, Schenn’s improvement is almost like the Leafs acquired another player last weekend. Too often earlier in the season, Schenn was noticeable for all the wrong reasons. Lately though, he’s looked like a fifth overall pick. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.20

www.afootinthecrease.com

If there is one area in which the Toronto Maple Leafs have been proficient, at least recently, it has been finding new ways to lose hockey games. The mark of any good team is one that can find ways to win hockey games even when not at their best. Throughout the course of a long season, that ability usually allows a team to pick up five or six extra wins for ten or twelve extra points, often the difference between being towards the bottom of the conference or up in a fight for one of the top four positions.

Cleary, the ability to find ways to win is an area of the Maple Leafs’ game which requires a great deal of attention.

During what has now turned into a six game losing streak, the Leafs have lost games in all sorts of ways. They’ve blown early leads against the Atlanta Thrashers. Try too many men on the ice penalties in overtime against the Tampa Bay Lightning, that’s not going to help. How about just mailing one in against the Florida Panthers or sitting right back in the middle of a game against the Los Angeles Kings? Chase one of the best netminders in the game in Robert Luongo after one period against the Vancouver Canucks and still manage to lose that game.

Part of it has to be a confidence issue at this point because it seems like the moment one thing goes against the team, it snowballs into a full scale meltdown where the bleeding can never be stopped. Part of it has to be coaching as the Leafs continue to repeat the same mistakes time and again. Part of it has to be the fact that, quite honestly, the group of players simply isn’t good enough to win on a consistent basis.

At the end of the day though, once all those fractions are put together, it becomes clear just how bad of a situation the teams is in at this point and how much work needs to be done before the Leafs can even begin to climb back to respectability. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.