[GDT] 2026 Olympics Game #4: Quarterfinals - Canada vs. Czechia

[redmile04]

Originally Posted by ajr4013

Was really hoping for the afternoon slot. Damn.

Was announced( unsure if confirmed or a rumor) a few days that the best team remaining would have the 840am slot, but yeah was still hoping as well lol. Friday Beers hit different than Friday Coffees.

[D as in David]

Originally Posted by Mitch

####. Q Hughes is lethal.

The Canucks are wondering how they could get a game-breaker like him.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by troutman

USA gets weaker opponent in semis.

Dont know about that

[SuperMatt18]

The most interesting thing of the day might be Kevin Bieksa saying that him, Radko Gudas, and Rampage Jackson go for dinners together.

That has to be the most random dinner party ever.

[terryclancy]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

Not me. I think they're the favorite to win the whole thing now. Canada's defense corps is far inferior to US except for Makar/Toews.

And Crosby & MacKinnon injured...

Thanked for using “corps” instead of “core.”

[EVERLAST]

Originally Posted by 3rd liner

What a joke the Czech coach is whining about calls. You had six players on the ice for a goal big guy. You had Gudas and the Czech defense with many uncalled interference and roughing penalties. That blatant hit/interference on Crosby in the neutral zone? Shut the hell up.

Yep and Cooper said exactly what i was thinking .....the hit on Crosby was LOW. And anyone notice how long he stayed on top . Had this not been the Olympics id say wed have seen more fireworks.

Now Sid , Nathan are banged up. Canadas pretty beat down and took a much harder road to get where they are.

Alot of guys are gonna have to significantly up their games to win 2 more with 2 of our top 3 banged up and or out.

Id say our chances arent looking as good. I hope theres a game plan for watching Macklin closely. That kid is going to be targeted ....hard. i think he can handle it but man i have more respect for McDavid now.....wow.....i said that out loud. He too will have a bullseye on his back . I hope Bennett and Marchand can bring some juice to thier games buf i also assume all fhe guys are pretty nicked up.

Man hockey is brutal . Its amazing to me how part warrior, athlete, soldier , enforcer, are mixed into these fellas to compete at this level for over 100 games a year and not get annihilated.

Go Canada Go

[DoubleK]

Just finished watching the game.

Marner and Binnington are such big game players.

Any updates on Crosby? That didn't look good.

[puds]

I haven't followed this tournament that closely but watched the game today and Canada looked like they struggled big time given the quality of their line up.

Did the team ever try something simple like putting their 4 best centers playing their natural position e.g. a line centered by mcdavid, a line centered by MacKinnon, a line centered by celebrini and a line centered by Crosby.

It just seems weird to have your top 3 centers playing on the same line particularly when McDavid / Mac are both extremely high touch players.

[sch19lks]

Originally Posted by puds

I haven't followed this tournament that closely but watched the game today and Canada looked like they struggled big time given the quality of their line up.

Did the team ever try something simple like putting their 4 best centers playing their natural position e.g. a line centered by mcdavid, a line centered by MacKinnon, a line centered by celebrini and a line centered by Crosby.

It just seems weird to have your top 3 centers playing on the same line particularly when McDavid / Mac are both extremely high touch players.

Cooper throws MacKinnon on the top line when Canada needs a goal. McDavid is usually with Celebrini and Wilson, while MacKinnon has mostly been with a combination of Marchand, Hagel and Suzuki

[browna]

I think Canada will be fine now.
Assuming without Crosby, Cooper can set lines.
Binnigton was good when required and is trustworthy and saved the game with a minute to go.
Marner a bit lucky the defenseman for some reason only covered half the ice and the goalie lost his post.
All this praise for Suzuki but really floating through the slot and got his stick on a floating puck.

McDavid is unreal. The assist to Celebrini was just fantastic.

He got a taste of success in the center of the hockey world with the 4 Nations and came back from it and then set the wheels in motion for his Edmonton exit with a cap friendly very basic contract extension. This taste of the Olympics success and playing somewhere were he can excel will again confirm to him that his Cup dream isn’t going to be in Edmonton.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

Sooooo what's the worst outcome. Losing to the US in the gold medal game, or Finland in the semi's?

Anything can happen and teams can always turn a switch at some point in the tournament, but Finland was absolutely terrible against Switzerland, least deserved win I've seen them have in quite a while, and really their only good game was against Sweden. They've just looked really unmotivated, nothing like Czechia and Slovakia who both looked like they were on a mission.

Rantanen especially has mostly just floated through most games, terrible effort level. The Switzerland game was so bad I'm not even sure I'm happy Finland won, they deserved to be out. They've looked like a team that's going to get absolutely destroyed at some point in the tournament, and the next game could be the one. A Finnish win would for me be a much bigger shocker than a Czechia win would have been.

Lots of rumors about the head coach being a waste of space and not respected by the players.

[vilzeh]

Originally Posted by Itse

Anything can happen and teams can always turn a switch at some point in the tournament, but Finland was absolutely terrible against Switzerland, least deserved win I've seen them have in quite a while, and really their only good game was against Sweden. They've just looked really unmotivated, nothing like Czechia and Slovakia who both looked like they were on a mission.

Rantanen especially has mostly just floated through most games, terrible effort level. The Switzerland game was so bad I'm not even sure I'm happy Finland won, they deserved to be out. They've looked like a team that's going to get absolutely destroyed at some point in the tournament, and the next game could be the one. A Finnish win would for me be a much bigger shocker than a Czechia win would have been.

Lots of rumors about the head coach being a waste of space and not respected by the players.

True, they even asked Paul Maurice behind their back if he is interested, but yeah, the moment they signed Pennanen I was vocal about it, no clue what he is doing, he has no charm, no aura, all he does in games: Hands in pockets and a grumpy face.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by vilzeh

True, they even asked Paul Maurice behind their back if he is interested, but yeah, the moment they signed Pennanen I was vocal about it, no clue what he is doing, he has no charm, no aura, all he does in games: Hands in pockets and a grumpy face.

I put little value in that behind the bench aura stuff, but some of his rumored decisions like not running a single full practice before the Slovakia game to "save energy" sound absolutely wild and the kind of stuff that would absolutely have the team lose all their faith in coaching. And there's by now just too many stories of these bizarre decisions circling that I don't think all of them can be inaccurate or false.

It's like the guy doesn't really get why practice matters.

It was also very obvious the team had no plan what they were supposed to do in OT, just clear mismatch of intent several times. You could traditionally trust that Finland was a very well coached team, at least in these ways. The talent might not be what other top teams have, but the basics of team play were always solid and led to teams overachieving multiple times. That and the passion players had for playing with playing with a lion jersey.

And yes, sometimes the rigidity of system play has even gone overboard. However I don't think I've ever seen a team Finland that looks as messy and incoherent as this one. I suspect most of the coaching is currently done by the players just deciding things by themselves. They're experienced enough to do it, but it's obviously never going to be as solid as a unified vision.

All that said, the players also looked really checked out in the Switzerland game. Rantanen especially looks like he hates to be there a lot of the time. The Sweden game showed that they can play much better when they care.

The talent is there, but the plan isn't, and the passion is I think very questionable.

The PK has been overall pretty solid, Saros has been fine, top 4 have been good to great, but when Joel Armia is your best forward in most games, there's problems.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by trackercowe

Sooooo what's the worst outcome. Losing to the US in the gold medal game, or Finland in the semi's?

The USA is the best team in the tournament this time around. It would suck to lose to them for obvious reasons, but there'd be no real shame in it, you're not supposed to win that game. You are supposed to beat Finland.

[Infinit47]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

The USA is the best team in the tournament this time around. It would suck to lose to them for obvious reasons, but there'd be no real shame in it, you're not supposed to win that game. You are supposed to beat Finland.

What? Strongly disagree the USA is better than Canada in this tournament and definitely not to the point of Canada being expected to lose to them.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

The USA is the best team in the tournament this time around. It would suck to lose to them for obvious reasons, but there'd be no real shame in it, you're not supposed to win that game. You are supposed to beat Finland.

I don’t think the USA has better forwards, and their goaltending is questionable at the moment. They have better defencemen in general, but Canada has the best defenceman.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

I didn't say Canada is expected to lose. I said they're not supposed to win. That isn't the expectation. It's, at best, an even contest, and in a one-game series there should be no real surprise if either team wins.

In contrast, Finland or Slovakia winning against either of those teams would be a very clear upset. Canada and the US are both supposed to win those games.

Also, going into this tournament was that the USA had the slightly stronger lineup on paper as a result of having better goaltending and defence, and that Canada's only real advantage is at center. Quinn Hughes is arguably the USA's best player, and the teams were evenly matched at 4 nations without him. And now Canada is without Crosby. It's close, anyway.

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I don’t think the USA has better forwards, and their goaltending is questionable at the moment. They have better defencemen in general, but Canada has the best defenceman.

I think Hughes is better in any context, but especially in this tournament where he's not only great in his own right but a force multiplier for everyone else on the ice with him. And Werenski isn't far behind either of them.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by browna

I think Canada will be fine now.
Assuming without Crosby, Cooper can set lines.
Binnigton was good when required and is trustworthy and saved the game with a minute to go.
Marner a bit lucky the defenseman for some reason only covered half the ice and the goalie lost his post.
All this praise for Suzuki but really floating through the slot and got his stick on a floating puck.

McDavid is unreal. The assist to Celebrini was just fantastic.

He got a taste of success in the center of the hockey world with the 4 Nations and came back from it and then set the wheels in motion for his Edmonton exit with a cap friendly very basic contract extension. This taste of the Olympics success and playing somewhere were he can excel will again confirm to him that his Cup dream isn’t going to be in Edmonton.

Kidding me?

Line mates went for a change. I expected Suzuki to dump it in deep and change, but he kept possession and got it deep and kept it until help arrived

He deserves credit for not just the tip, but for making that play happen

Deserves more praise, not less

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

I didn't say Canada is expected to lose. I said they're not supposed to win. That isn't the expectation. It's, at best, an even contest, and in a one-game series there should be no real surprise if either team wins.

In contrast, Finland or Slovakia winning against either of those teams would be a very clear upset. Canada and the US are both supposed to win those games.

Also, going into this tournament was that the USA had the slightly stronger lineup on paper as a result of having better goaltending and defence, and that Canada's only real advantage is at center. Quinn Hughes is arguably the USA's best player, and the teams were evenly matched at 4 nations without him. And now Canada is without Crosby. It's close, anyway.

I think Hughes is better in any context, but especially in this tournament where he's not only great in his own right but a force multiplier for everyone else on the ice with him. And Werenski isn't far behind either of them.

I’m not sure what the difference between “expected to lose” and “not supposed to win” is.

On Hughes, we just disagree. I think Makar may be the best player in the league, let alone defenceman. Crosby is an emotional loss, but not as much on the ice as one might think. The goaltending for the US is better on paper. But coming in the US goalies weren’t playing all that well in the NHL either.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Kidding me?

Line mates went for a change. I expected Suzuki to dump it in deep and change, but he kept possession and got it deep and kept it until help arrived

He deserves credit for not just the tip, but for making that play happen

Deserves more praise, not less

Yeah he said post game he didn’t want to dump it and turn it over. And it worked in the best way.