Canada v Austria 6-0 - Jeff Carter was removed from Crosby's wing on Canada's top line Friday and the Los Angeles Kings forward promptly scored a natural hat trick in the second period of a 6-0 rout of Austria in Group B play at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Carter's three goals came on a rebound off a post, a wraparound after a goalie giveaway behind the net, and a rebound on the doorstep. In all, the three goals might have traveled a total of 5 feet. One day after opening the tournament with a rather understated 3-1 win against Norway, the Canadians turned it on, also getting goals from Carter's Kings teammate Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and Ryan Getzlaf before the game was 40 minutes old. A few hundred yards away Finland was beating Norway 6-1, setting up a showdown for first place in Group B against Canada on Sunday.
"I don't think I've had [a hat trick] like that before," Carter said. "I'll take them any way they can come right now. My linemates did a great job of winning races and winning puck battles and getting pucks to the net. I guess I could say I was the recipient of their hard work."
"We're looking forward to the matchup against Finland," Doughty said. "Obviously they're going to be our toughest matchup yet. At the same time, no matter who we face we're going to have the same confidence and the same swagger. We're looking forward to it."
Austria, after a relatively strong showing in an 8-4 loss to Finland on Thursday, clearly was overmatched Friday. The Austrians were outshot 46-23 and coach Emanuel Viveiros pulled goalie Bernhard Starkbaum after he allowed six goals on 31 shots in two periods.
"They could probably make five teams with the guys they left at home," said New York Islanders forward Michael Grabner, one of three NHL players on the Austrian team. "They're definitely one of the favorites, if not the favorite, so I think we can be proud of our effort. Obviously we would've liked to score a goal or two, but they're a great team. It was a tough game."
Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene, Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban and Phoenix Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith each dressed for their first game for Canada. Duchene played on a line with Anaheim Ducks teammates Corey Perry and Getzlaf, and Subban rotated in to take shifts with Duncan Keith and Jay Bouwmeester. Canada coach Mike Babcock scratched forward Patrick Sharp and defenseman Dan Hamhuis to make room for Duchene and Subban, but said after the game those players will be in against Finland. That means Babcock will need to tell two more elite players they won't be in uniform for Canada's biggest game of the tournament thus far. At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Babcock did not have this lineup shuffling to manage because he dressed the same 22 players for every game. He wishes he could do that here.
"It's way harder; it's ridiculous actually. You tell an athlete who competed hard and did things right that he's not playing. That's no fun. If you're [Sharp], for example, you're a high-, high-end player. I grab him when he's walking in [Friday] to tell him that he's not playing and he doesn't ask me why. It's good he didn't ask me why because I've got no reason why."
Smith was the backup to goaltender Robert Luongo, who made 23 saves for the shutout, though he needed to be sharp early; the Austrians had a pair of high-quality scoring chances in the first five minutes of the game. Another decision Babcock will need to make while the players have an off day Saturday is whether Luongo or Carey Price will start against Finland.
"I'm not here to plead my case, man," Luongo said. "It doesn't matter what happens moving forward. It's not about personal agendas; it's about representing your country and doing whatever it takes to help them win."
Carter began Friday as Babcock's 13th forward and took a tripping penalty at 29 seconds of the second period, making his spot in the lineup against Finland suddenly rather tenuous. He did as soon as he stepped out of the penalty box. Carter created a turnover at the Austria blue line to send Crosby flying into the zone. He set up Patrick Marleau for a marvelous chance that hit the post, but Carter was there to tap it into an open net at 2:39.
"I know I didn't have my best game last game, so I wanted to come out and have a good showing. I just drove the back post, Patty made a nice pass." Carter said.
Less than two minutes later, Starkbaum got caught behind his net and gave the puck to Carter, who pulled a wraparound to put it through the goaltender's legs at 4:09 of the second. Carter again was in the right place at the right time when a rebound of a Marleau shot bounced right to him at the side of the net and he had a yawning net at 14:33, giving him three goals on four shots in less than five minutes of ice time.
"Confidence in these tournaments is the big thing with it being so short," Carter said. "You get a goal and you start to feel good about yourself. Your legs start to feel a little better, the hands start to feel a little better and it feels like the game starts to get a little easier."
Carter also was on the ice when Getzlaf scored a gorgeous goal at 16:48 of the second, toe-dragging around Austrian defender Thomas Koch before beating Starkbaum to make it 6-0. Carter was a plus-5 at that point in the game because he also was on the ice when Doughty opened the scoring with a wrist shot from the point at 5:24 of the first period, the defenseman's second goal of the tournament. Weber made it 2-0 scoring on a blistering slap shot at 10:12 of the first, but it was the play that preceded it that may have been the nicest of the game. Getzlaf was skating up the right side of the ice and sent a backhand saucer pass clear across to the other wing to a streaking Perry, who knocked the puck out of the air and onto his stick with one hand. Once he crossed the blue line, Perry used the toe of his stick to leave a drop pass through his legs to Weber, who one-timed it past Starkbaum. Starkbaum never saw it go past him, and many people in the building didn't see it go in after the puck hit the back of the net and popped back out, but the referee signaled a goal, giving the Nashville Predators captain two in two games.
"I don't play my best players penalty killing when we play Nashville, just flat out because I'm afraid they will break their leg or their ankle. He shoots it that hard," Babcock said. "If you're going to let him shoot it then he's going to open up something else for somebody. He can flat out shoot it."
Now Babcock has some decisions to make. He said Canada's coaches will not be allowed to speak to the players Saturday other than to say hi, and they will get a day to recover from playing twice in two nights. The coaching staff will not, however, as they wrestle with the idea of leaving three players who may be the best players on most other teams in street clothes against Finland. Smith surely will be one of the players not dressed for Canada, but the identity of the other two remains a big unknown. In all likelihood it's even unknown to Babcock himself.
"That's not something I look forward to at all," he said. "These are good men, good people that are giving their time to represent Canada. It's got to be hard on them. The only benefit they can gain from this experience is when they go back to their teams and the guy that's shaking their hand as they're walking in after the game who's scratched all the time, they're going to have more appreciation for them and how hard it is for them."
Finland v Norway 6-1 - After two games that were nothing more than tune-ups against two of the bottom-tier teams in the tournament, Finland will be able to test its medal chops against one of the big boys Sunday. Finland defeated Norway 6-1 Friday at Shayba Arena, setting up a Sunday showdown with Canada, with the winner clinching first place in Group B and securing an automatic berth into the quarterfinals in the 2014 Sochi Olympics. The loser also can receive an automatic berth into the quarterfinals or get a better draw in the qualification round, but it would depend on goal differential. After two games, the Finns are plus-9, the Canadians are plus-8.
"These first two games we were expecting to win and I was pretty happy that we didn't have to grind all 60 minutes [Friday]," Finland captain Teemu Selanne said. "We got goals right away and could kind of cruise around the rest of the game, but Sunday is Canada and it's going to be a good challenge for our team. They have four all-star lines so it's not going to be easy. We all know those guys. We play against them every day back home. It's going to be hard, but on the same hand it's going to be a challenge. We need a tough game now. It's a big ice surface so hopefully that's going to be an advantage for us."
The game Sunday will be the first in the Olympics between Finland and Canada since 2006, when the Finns defeated the Canadians 2-0 in group play. Finland went on to win the silver medal in Turin by beating the United States and Russia before losing to Sweden in the gold-medal game. Canada finished sixth. Selanne's goal 5:46 into the first period not only gave Finland a 1-0 lead, it was historic. The 43-year-old Anaheim Ducks forward became the oldest player to score a goal in an Olympic game; he has 21 goals in 33 Olympic games over six events.
"Having that record makes me feel very old but I'm just happy that the older guys can still rock," Selanne said.
Finland's younger players can too. Defenseman Olli Maatta, 19, who had a goal and two assists Friday to give him four points in two games at his first Olympics, is tied for the tournament lead in points with Canada's Patrick Marleau and Finnish teammate Sami Vatanen.
"For sure it's something I never really thought of, but I don't really take pride in my scoring ability," Maatta said. "I take pride in my defensive game and making the easy pass for the forwards."
He did that on each of Lauri Korpikoski's goals Friday. Olli Jokinen chipped in with a goal and an assist. Tuomo Ruutu and goalie Kari Lehtonen each had two assists. Lehtonen, who was the backup Thursday to Tuukka Rask in Finland's 8-4 win against Austria, made 20 saves. Westerlund would not say which goalie will start against Canada. Antti Niemi, who hasn't played in the tournament, also is an option.
"I know who the goalie is going to be, but you don't," Westerlund said, smiling.
The Finns had a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Korpikoski scored on a scramble in front of the crease 65 seconds after Selanne's goal, and Jori Lehtera shot a knuckler past Norway goalie Lars Haugen with 2:39 left in the period. Haugen was benched in favor of Lars Volden to start the second period, but Volden gave up goals to Korpikoski and Jokinen separated by 3:23 in the middle of the period. Norway got one back 61 seconds into the third period on a one-timer from Per-Age Skroder, but Maatta capped the scoring with 2:19 remaining. The only problem for the Finns is that Florida Panthers rookie forward Aleksander Barkov had to leave the game early in the third period with a lower-body injury. Westerlund was not sure of the severity of the injury when he was asked about it after the game. Barkov had been playing center on Finland's top line, between Selanne and Mikael Granlund, but with or without him the Finns have one day to prepare for their biggest test of the tournament so far. They tuned up against Austria and Norway. It's time to find out how strong the engine is against Canada.
"They are probably favored to win this tournament but we like our chances," Finnish forward Jussi Jokinen said. "We are ready for that challenge on Sunday."
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