Story off the scoreboard

EDMONTON, Alta. -- The outcome didn't do justice to the process.

There were the Canadians, giving up several Grade A scoring chances only to watch the Finns fire blanks. There were moments when the Finns looked like the better team, however fleeting. The game-tape won't lie, but neither will the final score.

When the dust settled, the Finns misfired on so many chances they were unable to score more than once in a humiliating and humbling 8-1 loss to Canada in both team's tournament opener.

"What can I say?" said Finland head coach Raimo Helminen when asked for his opening statement. "8-1."

The score does tell a story and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. Canada scored on its chances, Finland did not. Canada outplayed the Finns and outworked them through most of the game.

Helminen did as many good coaches do and accepted the blame for the loss, saying that he didn't prepare his team to be ready for the tournament's first big test. He tried inspiring his team after Alexander Ruutu scored an early second period goal, when the score was only 2-1.

"We have to believe in us," he said. "If we believe in us, we can play against any opponent."

Whether that belief was shared by his players now is rhetorical. Mark Stone scored the second of his three goals less than two minutes later, the first of six unanswered goals by Canada.

Finland's super-skilled playmaker Mikael Granlund had no answer for his team's inability to feed off the momentum generated by Ruutu's goal.

The answer, as some of the Canadians see it, is their dedication to blocking shots. Scott Harrington laid across the crease and took a puck off his shoulder to thwart a would-be goal. Earlier in the game, Freddie Hamilton took a shot off the leg in the slot that seemed destined for the left corner.

"It's a high-paced game out there and obviously they're a very skilled team," Canadian defenceman Brandon Gormley said. "The score doesn't really do justice for the game. I think it was a lot closer than 8-1. If we don't sacrifice like that and we don't stick to our systems like that, then it's a totally different game."

The Finns had two power-plays midway through the first frame in which they created chances, but couldn't find a way to get a goal. Many of their shots narrowly missed to Mark Visentin's left. The one time Finland did connect well enough to find the net, Visentin kicked out his left pad to deny the opportunity.

The Canadians made the adjustments in between the first and second period, where they began taking away the middle of the ice in their own zone.

"Absolutely we touched on that in between periods," defenceman Mark Pysyk said. "It was a feeling throughout the whole team. We all saw what was happening. They were going through the middle and we made adjustments."

"There's lots of parts to our game that we can tighten up and that's being one of them," Gormley said. "You give them time and space in the slot and any player's going to make you pay."

Any player except one wearing a Suomi jersey, that is. Canada played with fire by leaving the slot open for the taking in the first period, but the Finns wouldn't burn them. A couple inches closer and many of them would have found the back of the net.

It's little solace for the Finns now in an 8-1 drubbing. Yes, they had chances. But without capitalizing on them, it's a meaningless stat.

Asked if the score could have been different if some of those near-misses found the back of the net, Granlund did his best not to upset the hockey Gods.

"You can't know that," he said. "It's an excuse if you say something like that. We lost and the tournament goes on."

The tournament will go on and whether they lost 8-1 or 4-3, Finland starts with a loss and Canada a win.

"We're worried about us," Gormley said. "We didn't feel we played our best game the first time against them (in a pre-tournament tune-up on Dec. 19) and I thought we played a lot better tonight."

The score may not indicate it, but there is room for improvement amongst this Canadian squad.

"I was really happy with the overall effort," Canada head coach Don Hay said. "I thought whenever you're really sacrificing yourself and I thought all our defencemen played a real, solid game and killing penalties."

It was the outcome they wanted, even if the process left something to be desired.