Canada was structurally terrible this entire tournament.
The Sweden - Russia game was full of puck support and 5 foot tape-to-tape passes to generate speed. Canada's game was guys spread out all over the ice throwing long passes that rarely found the mark.
Ferraro hit the nail on the head in this game when he described Canada's passes as "hopeful". That's exactly what they were. Flip passes into the centre of the ice or chip passes of the boards where that passers hoped their find a receiver, rather than passing with a purpose.
To me that looked a lot like the Flames under Sutter, and to that extent the failure falls on him.
Another problem, though, was a lack of battle. A dozen times a period I saw a Canadian player drifting towards a puck, or drifting into a corner. It was a pathetic display and there's plenty of blame: the players themselves, the coaches for not getting them to play harder, and the selection process for who was chosen and how.
I can't remember being as disappointed in a Canadian team as I am after that game, and this tournament.
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