Final, Canada 1-0: As was the case the entire game, the Americans couldn’t generate anything on offense in the final minutes, and their quest for gold has come to an end.
The Canadians hang on and advance to play for the gold medal against Sweden on Sunday. The Americans, meanwhile, will settle for the bronze medal game Saturday against Finland.
Third period, 19:00, Canada 1-0: The American net is empty.
Third period, 16:30, Canada 1-0: The Americans are running out of time. They can’t get anything to the net, and there’s only three and a half minutes to play.
Third period, 14:18, Canada 1-0: Jonathan Quick just made a huge save.
He stuck his left pad out for a stop on a Chris Kunitz slapper from the slot. Kunitz got the rebound but backhanded it wide.
Third period, 12:00, Canada 1-0: The Americans killed the penalty thanks to two huge shot blocks from Ryan Callahan.
Third period, 9:56, Canada 1-0: Phil Kessel is going to the penalty box, and the American comeback effort is getting a little more difficult.
Kessel hooked Chris Kunitz, and the Americans will have to kill off a penalty.
Third period, 7:30, Canada 1-0: We just saw some signs of life in the Americans after some transition hockey.
Team USA stormed into the Canadian zone, resulting in a slap shot from Patrick Kane that whistled over the net and off the glass behind the cage. Shortly after that, Zach Parise launched a slap shot from the left wing that Carey Price stopped with his blocker.
Third period, 4:00, Canada 1-0: The Canadians don’t seem willing to sit on the lead.
Canada just brought the pressure deep in the American zone. Jamie Benn got a shot on goal, but Jonathan Quick made the save. Sidney Crosby was there for the rebound to Quick’s right, until he was knocked off the play at the very last moment.
Third period, 0:01, Canada 1-0: The third period is underway, and the Americans need to do something to get on the board, or their tournament is done.
End second period, Canada 1-0: The second period is over, and the Americans are trailing 1-0 after Canada scored 1:41 into the period.
Second period, 17:38, Canada 1-0: Once again, the Americans can’t convert on the power play.
They had a chance just as the power play expired with plenty of commotion in front of the net, but no one in a white Team USA jersey could jam home the puck, and the U.S. still trails by a goal.
Second period, 15:24, Canada 1-0: Chris Kunitz just got a little carried away after the whistle, and it’s going to cost the Canadians.
Kunitz gave Jonathan Quick one extra jab with the stick after the whistle, and Kunitz picks up the penalty.
Second period, 14:03, Canada 1-0: Brooks Orpik owes Jonathan Quick, and he owes him big.
Quick just made his biggest save of the game on sprawling glove theft of a one-timer from Jamie Benn. That one-timer came after Orpik turned the puck over deep in the American zone, and Ryan Getzlaf gathered it and shot it across the slot for Benn, who was robbed by Quick.
Second period, 10:00, Canada 1-0: Any momentum from a solid power play for the Americans was short-lived.
The Canadians continue to put the pressure on, and the U.S. defense has had issues with some pretty aggressive forechecking from the Canada forwards.
The U.S. needs to tighten things up some, which is easier said than done against a forward group like Canada’s.
Second period, 5:19, Canada 1-0: Team USA had a much better power play this time around, but the Americans still have nothing to show for it, at least not on the scoreboard.
That’s thanks in large part to Carey Price. The Canadian goalie made an incredible save on a Zach Parise redirect that almost certainly should have been a goal.
Second period, 3:16, Canada 1-0: The Americans will try to use the power play to tie the game.
Ryan Getzlaf just caught Patrick Kane with a high stick, and the Americans get a two-minute man-advantage.
Second period, 1:41, Canada 1-0: Canada is on the board first.
Jay Bouwmeester made an incredible play to get a puck from the left point through traffic in the slot to Jamie Benn, who was breaking toward the net. It looked like Jonathan Quick was expecting a shot from the point, but Bouwmeester put the puck right on Benn’s tape, and the Dallas Stars forward redirected the puck by Quick for the goal.
Second period, 0:01, 0-0: The second period has begun.
End first period, 0-0: A frantic first period just came to an end, and we’re still scoreless.
The Canadians outshot the U.S. 16-11 in the first.
First period, 17:00, 0-0: The Team USA power play is over, but it’s not like it ever began.
The Americans had a real difficult time getting the puck into the Canadian zone, let alone generating scoring chances. That was as bad as that unit has looked the entire tournament.
First period, 14:58, 0-0: Now it’s the Americans’ turn to go on the power play.
Joe Pavelski tried to get into the offensive zone and catch up with his linemates, but Patrick Marleau interfered with him. Marleau is heading to the box, and the Americans are heading on the power play.
First period, 13:00, 0-0: Team USA does a great job of penalty killing, and the Canadian power play has expired.
Ryan Kesler was especially effective during that PK for the Americans. Jonathan Quick also made a big save on a Jeff Carter shot from the slot.
First period, 10:53, 0-0: The Canadians are going to have the game’s first power play.
Ryan Suter, the Americans’ best defenseman, is going to the box for holding the stick.
First period, 7:22, 0-0: Jonathan Quick just made a big save of his own.
Sidney Crosby hit Patrick Sharp with a backhanded pass as Sharp moved in on net from the right wing, but Quick went from his right to his left to make the save on the one-time bid from in close.
First period, 6:30, 0-0: Team USA is starting to put the pressure on, but Carey Price is locked in so far.
The Americans are outshooting Canada 7-5 in the early minutes.
First period, 5:30, 0-0: The Americans continue to allow their defense to jump into the play.
Phil Kessel just dropped a pass for the rushing John Carlson, who got an open look in the slot, but Carey Price made a huge glove save to keep the game scoreless.
First period, 1:49, 0-0: Chances at both ends in the opening minutes.
Phil Kessel got loose on a partial breakaway in the first 30 seconds but couldn’t get a good enough angle as he took the shot at Carey Price. A minute later, the Sidney Crosby line had a really good shift in the American zone that led to a chance for Patrice Bergeron and then another for Drew Doughty.
After the whistle, there was some pushing and shoving with Canada’s Chris Kunitz in the middle of all of it. No surprise there.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: Let’s do this. The game is underway.
11:50 a.m.: Warmups have wrapped up in Sochi, and we’re just a few moments away from getting started in semifinal action.
11 a.m.: We already know the Americans will be without Paul Martin for this semifinal matchup. It’s now being reported that Martin also will miss Team USA’s final game, whether that’s for the gold medal or bronze.
Rob Rossi, who covers the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is reporting that Martin is out with a hand injury, likely for a month. Martin has yet to be looked at by Penguins team doctors.
[tweet https://twitter.com/RobRossi_Trib/status/436890567730274304 align=’center’]
That’s obviously a big blow for Team USA, especially given the uncertainty surrounding the blue line to begin with. Justin Faulk, who has been scratched throughout the tournament, will be called on to replace Martin in the lineup for the final two games.
9:30 a.m. ET: This is the game American hockey fans have been waiting for since 2010.
The United States men’s hockey team will look for a little revenge when it takes on Canada in semifinal action at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi on Friday. The winner of the highly anticipated matchup will head to the gold medal game to face Sweden after the Swedes won their semifinal matchup over Finland earlier Friday.
Friday’s game will be a rematch of one of the best Olympic hockey games of all time in 2010. The Americans and Canadians needed overtime to settle that gold medal game, in which Sidney Crosby scored a golden goal to win it for Canada. Not quite as much is at stake in this semifinal matchup, but the game certainly has the potential to be another all-time classic.
The Americans have been arguably the best team in the tournament thus far. Team USA’s depth, especially up front, has been undeniable, with the U.S. receiving balanced scoring up and down Dan Bylsma’s lines. The Americans’ defense was one of the team’s question marks entering the tournament, and it certainly could be an issue against a high-powered Canadian team. The U.S. will be without veteran defenseman Paul Martin. He’ll be replaced by Justin Faulk, who will be making his Olympic debut. Martin was among the American leaders in ice time, averaging almost 18 minutes per game.
With that in mind, here are the projected lines and defensive pairings for Team USA.
Dustin Brown — David Backes — Ryan Callahan
Zach Parise — Ryan Kesler — Patrick Kane
James van Riemsdyk — Joe Pavelski — Phil Kessel
Max Pacioretty — Paul Stastny — T.J. Oshie
Blake Wheeler
Cam Fowler — Kevin Shattenkirk
Brooks Orpik — John Carlson
Ryan Suter — Ryan McDonagh
Justin Faulk
Unsurprisingly, the Americans will go with Jonathan Quick in goal. He’s won all three of his starts for undefeated Team USA, posting a .935 save percentage and 1.62 goals against average.
The Canadians, meanwhile, come in with the same undefeated record. However, Canada has yet to look as polished as its rivals to the south. Head coach Mike Babcock has had to shuffle his lines throughout the tournament, most notably trying to find the right combination to spark Sidney Crosby.
Canada has scored just 13 goals in its four games (Team USA has scored 20), and Crosby has been held to just two assists thus far. He hasn’t been alone in having a quiet tournament when it comes to Canadian forwards. Seven of those 13 Canadian goals have come from defensemen, and three of the forwards’ goals were scored on Jeff Carter’s hat trick in the prelim round.
Here are the projected lines and defense pairs for the Canadians, who will start Carey Price in net.
Chris Kunitz — Sidney Crosby — Patrice Bergeron
Jamie Benn — Ryan Getzlaf — Corey Perry
Patrick Marleau — Jonathan Toews — Jeff Carter
Patrick Sharp — Matt Duchene — Rick Nash
Martin St. Louis
Duncan Keith — Shea Weber
Marc-Edouard Vlasic — Drew Doughty
Jay Bouwmeester — Alex Pietrangelo
Dan Hamhuis
Puck drop from Sochi is set for noon.
