National Pride at Stake for Canada in Semifinal Matchup With Slovakia

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Feb 26, 2010

National Pride at Stake for Canada in Semifinal Matchup With Slovakia The Canadians quickly shook off the embarrassment of losing to the Americans on home soil, coming out with a vengeance against Germany in the qualifying round and the high-powered Russia team in the quarterfinals. Canada won those two games by a combined score of 15-5.

It's going to take a mighty defensive effort from Zdeno Chara and the Slovakians to slow down Canada.

Canada vs. Slovakia, 9:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

Slovakia
While the United States' run to the semifinals has been a surprise, many considered the Americans a possible dark horse. Slovakia, on the other hand, wasn’t on the radar of many prognosticators and has to be considered the real Cinderella team here. The Slovaks have never finished higher than fifth place and have never won a medal — but after losing their first game of this tournament to their rivals, the Czech Republic, they have reeled off four straight wins, upsetting defending gold-medal champion Sweden in the quarterfinals.

While the Slovaks haven’t had much Olympic success, they have produced numerous NHLers. The core of this team is full of NHL stars, a large reason the Slovaks are playing for a medal for the first time.

Marian Gaborik (three goals, one assist) is the most skilled on the team, but the Slovaks have been led by Pavol Demitra and Marian Hossa, who lead the team with two goals and five assists each. Bruins forward Miroslav Satan scored the game-winner against Norway in the qualifying round.

The defense is led by Bruins and Slovak captain Zdeno Chara, who has two assists thus far and has been his usual physical presence. Chara has ironically been the beneficiary of some physical play as well, specifically against Norway: The Norwegian forwards took every last shot they could get at the Big Z, but he fought back and helped his team pull out a 4-3 victory.

Between the pipes, Jaroslav Halak has had some shaky moments, but he has fought through and looked like the Halak that has kept the Canadiens in the NHL playoff race. Halak is 4-1-0 with a 1.97 GAA and .923 save percentage.

The Slovaks will strike quick when their opponents allow them to, and their defense can wear down opposing forwards while also chipping in on offense. But they have shown some mental lapses, and a lull in their game could really burn them now in the medal rounds.

Canada
After being stunned by the United States in a 5-3 loss on Sunday, the Canadians — the pre-tournament favorites — awoke and have looked more like the gold-medal team many believe they can be. Canada breezed past Germany with an 8-2 win in the qualifying round and then pulled off a shocker of sorts when they absolutely embarrassed Russia 7-3 in a matchup many had pegged as a possible gold-medal game.

Forwards Dany Heatley (four goals, three assists) and Jonathan Toews (seven assists) lead the team in points with seven, and Jarome Iginla leads the team in goals with five. Sidney Crosby (three goals, three assists) has looked like a young star who hasn't been fazed by the Stanley Cup playoffs and by becoming the youngest captain to ever hoist the Cup, and Eric Staal (one goal, five assists) looks like the player who also helped lead his team to a Stanley Cup championship in 2006.

But the two major factors in Canada’s quick rebound from the loss to the USA have been the same areas that have helped the USA find success: goaltending and a defense that has played a major role in the offensive attack. Led by Dan Boyle (one goal, five assists), Shea Weber (two goals, three assists) and Duncan Keith, who has five helpers, the Canadian blue line has accounted for 24 points and has rendered the Canadian offense that much more dynamic. Captain Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, both heavily criticized in the first three games of the tournament, have found their games and shown their leadership.

After watching the winningest goalie in NHL history struggle and allow four goals on 22 shots against the USA, head coach Mike Babcock made a tough decision, switching from Martin Brodeur to Roberto Luongo for the qualifying round. Luongo didn’t disappoint, making 21 saves on 23 shots in the win over Germany and then shutting down Russia with 25 saves on 28 shots.

Canada is going on all cylinders right now, and at this point, they are once again the team to beat.

Prediction: Canada 4-1

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