TORONTO – “Which would you rather watch?” Mike Babcock asked a questioner, and the answer was already implied.
There seemed to be this idea his Team Canada was too precise, too responsible – too good – at the end of a day where Team North America upstaged the headline act at Air Canada Centre.
It’s no coincidence that a 4-1 win over Team Europe was the 13th straight victory in best-on-best competition for Babcock’s boys. They’ve hit on a formula that works, and it looks nothing like the electrifying, chance-trading spellbinder that Team North America delivered during its overtime win over Sweden.
“They’re totally different,” Babcock said Wednesday night. “I like watching that team because there’s tons of skill. I like winning more, though. I just want to win.
“That’s what our players came for; they came to win.”
The biggest issue here is that you can’t have it both ways.
You can’t have a world where Team Canada is expected to take gold at every major competition and also set its superstars free.
Obviously, there are occasions when a team survives 60 minutes of odd-man rushes and wild swings of emotion to win games. But it doesn’t work every time. Playing that way doesn’t build you a winning streak which dates all the way back to a preliminary round game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
So while Team North America warrants all of the praise and attention it has received during this tournament, it would be a mistake for anyone to suggest that Team Canada consider changing its ways.
When you wear the Maple Leaf, winning isn’t boring.
“I think the amount of pressure on both teams is a little bit different,” observed Team Canada centre Jonathan Toews. “I think you see that. The North American team, they go out there and they play. They know that even though that maybe they’re not as strict with their systems, if that’s the case, I think they’re all working. They’re working hard …
“They’re playing loose and they’re not worried about a thing. When you play that way then that skill can really be unleashed and we’re seeing that.”
He went on to add that playing with structure hasn’t inhibited the creativity and talent his teammates possess.
It didn’t keep him from deftly tipping home a Matt Duchene shot on Wednesday night or beating Team Europe goalie Jaroslav Halak low to the blocker side off the rush. It didn’t keep Sidney Crosby from flashing his skillset on a beautiful wraparound goal early on.
More than anything, a system built on managing the puck allows Canada to get through potential trap games like this one unscathed.
On this night they had already clinched a spot in the semifinals – as had Team Europe – and there was no built-in rivalry to bring forth emotion. There was almost a hollow echo in the building after the ear-splitting hoopla of the afternoon. Then they got off to a flat start.
Under those circumstances, players need to cling to something to avoid the kind of loss a country would remember for years, if not decades.
“I think right off the start we maybe struggled a little bit to get into it,” said defenceman Jay Bouwmeester. “We found a way, we did some really good things, we got some shots. Things are really good right now, so…”
So why mess with success?
The next game will be a much stiffer test. They’ll either play Russia or Team North America on Saturday night, and both options drip with possibility given that it’ll be a semifinal.
Team Canada has steamrolled through the tournament so far with the most goals scored (14), fewest allowed (3) and least amount of close calls (none).
Other than the normal vagaries of sport, there is nothing to suggest that they’ll be beat. They’ve built such a disciplined juggernaut that everyone expects them to win.
“It’s going to take something magical for anybody to take them out of the tournament,” said Team Europe coach Ralph Krueger. “You know, I know that group very well and have a lot of respect for what’s being done off and on the ice with the group. It’s a challenge for every country right now.
“It’s a compliment to Canada, it’s a compliment to what’s going on here.”
It’s important not to overlook that fact.
They may not be contributing as many highlight-reel GIFs to the world as Connor McDavid and Co., but they are winning at a remarkable rate. That they have done so while making the immense weight of a country’s hopes not seem like a burden is an accomplishment in itself.
“You’re playing for Canada and there’s always a lot of expectations,” said Bouwmeester. “The expectation is to win. That’s from the outside and from the inside and everything.”
When they play O Canada at the end, we rarely fret over how they got the job done.
