OTTAWA – When Team Canada and Team USA met in a game before the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, there was a brawl.
Literally.
And while there’s nothing to suggest we’ll see actual fights when the countries face one another in Columbus on Friday and Ottawa on Saturday, the Canadian players are expecting the temperature to be ratcheted up immediately.
“We knew that they left a little bit at the (Sochi) Olympics and they’re coming back with a vengeance,” defenceman Alex Pietrangelo said Thursday. “I think you’re setting the tone for the tournament right now.”
The tone started being set as far back as June, when Team USA general manager Dean Lombardi told The Associated Press that he wanted to build a team that could beat Canada.
“Let’s face it: They’re the benchmark and that’s what you’ve got to look at if you’re going to win this thing, generally,” said Lombardi.
It was no coincidence that he prioritized character and sandpaper over skill while assembling the roster. That helps explain why Brandon Dubinsky and Justin Abdelkader are participating while players like Tyler Johnson and Phil Kessel aren’t.
This shouldn’t look anything like the typical NHL exhibition game you see in September.
In speaking with a number of Canadian players over the first few days of training camp, they’re anticipating everything from trash talk to plenty of hitting during the back-to-back with the U.S. even though the result doesn’t matter.
“It’s probably going to be pretty feisty to get ‘er going,” said veteran forward Joe Thornton. “I think every team that plays against Canada wants to be physical. That’s just their M.O. The United States can be physical, but I think Canada can play physical too. So I don’t think we’re too worried about that.”
There’s a pretty good way to counter it.
“Your first goal is always to make other teams worry about what you do well,” said forward Jonathan Toews. “You want to have the puck all night. That’s one way to do that, but at the same time, it’s feeling them out as well and just knowing what their strengths are and kind of getting a glimpse of what they might bring to the table at tournament time.”
The Canada-U.S. rivalry doesn’t have the same history as Canada-Russia, but is arguably more relevant.
The countries seem to play meaningful games at every world junior tournament now and staged huge battles on the Olympic stage. Team Canada beat the U.S. in overtime to win gold in Vancouver after losing to them during the preliminary round, and also dispatched them in the semifinals in Sochi.
That history should add a little extra spice to games designed to get the players up to game speed before the World Cup begins.
“Because it’s the U.S. playing Canada, obviously there’s a rivalry before it even starts and so the tempo will be at a different level than you’re used to,” said Canadian coach Mike Babcock.
Should things get physical, Team Canada has several guys that can handle themselves.
Brad Marchand and Corey Perry have built careers on getting under the skin of opponents while few are able to push around big men like Thornton and Ryan Getzlaf. They’re all expecting to see a little edge on Friday night.
“It’s going to be very intense,” said Marchand. “You can’t turn it down, especially against the States. There’s still a lot of pride that goes into it. Might be a little bit rusty, being off for a few months, but the compete level will definitely be there.”
