Cross Traffic wrote:The start list for US/Finland is up and we get 2 NHL officials. (Paul Devorski, Steve Miller) You know in an elimination game that Devorski is going to let them play.
The NHL officials have proven to be more lenient through the prelims. I suppose the fewer chances you give the Finns on the power play, the better. Team USA has a decent power play but they just haven't converted on enough opportunities.
I don't want to discount what the Finns did in their 5 game run in the prelims but in a one game situation, you can throw out records and it comes down to lucky bounces and having the breaks go your way on that given day. I don't see a lot of holes in the Finns but anything can happen.
In games like this, getting first goal and dictating the pace from the start is big. The Americans are playing their best when they're using their speed. The Finns have shown to play a form of the trap/left wing lock...they'll go into a defensive shell when they get the lead. The Americans struggled when the Latvians slowed them during the second period of their game and turnovers proved to be killers. The Russians were lethal when Team USA gave away the puck. The Finns have just as much firepower and cutting down on puckhandling mistakes is key.
Team USA has yet to show that they can play well from behind. They rallied in the third to tie Latvia but that's the only time in the prelims they made comeback of some kind. DiPietro (assuming he's the starter) will have to keep the Finns off the board for as long as possible because an early goal could doom them right away. This is just the wrong team for Team USA to run into right now after coming off a 3-game skid and convidence can't be all that high. I think the Finns win today but Team USA hangs in until the end.
Game Prediction: Finland 3, USA 2
I'm recording both Finland-USA and Russia-Canada today while I'm at work...I'm going to avoid checking in here and looking for the scores online until I watch the games tonight.
