"We had a good first period and a good third period," Fleury continued.
"Obviously, we still have some work to do."
Things started swimmingly for Canada in the highly charged atmosphere
of
the E Center. Just 2:37 into the contest, Colorado Avalanche defenseman
Rob
Blake took a pass from Michael Peca of the New York Islanders and
one-timed
the puck past Tommy Salo for a 1-0 lead.
But as Fleury pointed out, this was to be a learning experience for
Canada
and school was just beginning.
The Swedes turned all the nuances of the Olympic game -- wider ice
surface,
no center ice red line, an aggressive forechecking pattern -- to their
advantage. They passed the puck extremely well and also broke men open
behind the Canadian defense, as Mats Sundin of the Maple Leafs did at
5:30
of the first.
Sundin, who played a monster game with two goals and an assist, hauled
in a
long pass from Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson, and emerged behind the
Canadian
defense of Al MacInnis of the Blues and Eric Brewer of the Oilers. That
set
up the confrontation that Maple Leafs fans have dreaded, with Sundin
bearing in on Curtis Joseph and snapping the puck past his Toronto
teammate
for the tying goal.
Canada out-shot Sweden in the first, 15-10, and no one could have
predicted
the sudden turnabout. Well, maybe no one but the Swedes.
Nicklas Sundstrom got the puck rolling at 6:06 of the second period, as
Sweden used cycling and quick puck movement down low in the Canadian
zone
to gain a stride on defenders. Taking a pass from Michael Nylander,
Sundstrom, the San Jose Sharks' forward, roofed the puck over a
sprawled
Joseph to give Sweden the lead, 2-1.
"They execute that part of the game very well," Canada's Joe
Nieuwendyk,
the center for the Dallas Stars, said. "That's something we have to
adjust
to. The second period is what killed us. It's disappointing, but a good
learning experience."
Albeit a painful one.
Sundin netted his second of the game at 10:42, unleashing a mammoth
shot
from the top of the left circle that beat Joseph to the glove side. The
Canadian goalie had no chance on the shot.
Kenny Jonsson upped Sweden's lead to 3-1 at 11:47 of the middle period,
taking a pass from Henrik Zetterberg, a Swedish Elite League player.
With
the puck nestled on his stick, Jonsson, the Islanders' defenseman,
found
the net behind Joseph, to make it 4-1.
"We're pretty pleased," Jonsson said. "Tommy Salo kept us in the game
in
the first period and then we took over in the second. This gives us a
little confidence, for sure. But Canada is still the team to beat no
matter
what anyone says."
 |
|
Sundstrom, the San Jose Sharks' forward, roofed the puck over a sprawled Joseph to give Sweden the lead, 2-1.
|
Just to prove how multi-faceted they are, the Swedes opted for a
special-teams goal to make it 5-1 as Ulf Dahlen of the Washington
Capitals
finished off a 2-on-2 with Sundstrom for a power-play goal at 15:58.
Sundin
picked up his third point of the game on the goal.
Sweden out-shot the Canadians, 11-3, in the second period and the
disparity
was clearly evident.
The good news for Canada was a far better showing in the third period.
Brewer scored a late goal at 15:39 and an Eric Lindros goal moments
later
was disallowed because Peca was in the crease. Plus, Canada also held
the
edge in shots, 17-4, in the third, and 35-25 for the game. So, there
were
signs of encouragement for the Canadians.
Canada backup for the night, Martin Brodeur, had one of the best views
of
what was working and what wasn't for his team. Afterward, he wasn't
ready
to hit the panic button.
"We played the game their way for a while, not our way," Brodeur said.
"They play well in the neutral zone and that's where we have to be
smart.
In the third period, we were more patient."
"We've got things to work on," agreed Canadian defenseman Adam Foote,
the
Colorado Avalanche backliner. "We didn't like our second period, but
we've
got to move on."
As the tournament moves on, Sweden may well become a more dangerous foe
as
head coach Hardy Nilsson teaches his "torpedo" style to more NHL
players.
The "torpedo" uses two forwards forechecking aggressively, another
forward
and a defenseman as a second line of defense and leaves the other
defender
back in something akin to a "rover" position. When you boast a
defenseman
like Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom, the NHL's reigning Norris Trophy
winner,
he becomes a very formidable force in that last position.
"I think we're going to use the torpedo as much as we can," Jonsson
said.
"It works well when you get two guys going hard. I know I have the
green
light to join the rush."
As his second-period goal proved.
Canada returns to action Sunday with a game against Germany, while
Sweden
faces the formidable obstacle of the Czech Republic, also on Sunday.
