RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Sports and Wrestling Olympic Hockey 2006

By far this morning's game was the best of the entire tournament. Sweden and Finland gave it everything they had, but it was Sweden that came up victorious.

There is a reason these two teams made it to the gold medal game. No other teams had the chamistry of Sweden and Finland. Both teams were loaded with brothers and teammates. Most notably, Sweden had a line of forwards who play together on regular shifts for the Detroit Red Wings. Not only that, Nick Lidstrom, the best defensman in the world, and Nik Kronwall, another Red Wing, made up Sweden's top defense pair when Kronwall began playing in the quarterfinals.

Little things like this could be seen on other teams as well. Team USA, although short on offense, had in my opinion the best defense pairing up until the quarterfinals with Detroit Red Wings Chelios and Schneider. They also had tremendous chemistry on their top and only scoring line between Devils teammates Gomez and Gianta. Canada had the top three players from Tampa Bay. But neither of those teams went far enough.

In a short tournament like this, chemistry needs to be instant. It's not something that can be developed over night. It's something that has to be brought to the tournament. Every national team should look at what Sweden did, at how they succeded.

Down 1-0, Sweden had the Red Wings line of Holmstrom, Zetterberg, and Samuelsson on the ice for a power play, and Zetterberg scored. Tied at one and on another power play, those same forwards, but this time with Kronwall on the point were back out, and Kronwall scored.

Of course, the game winner had nothing to do with the Red Wing line, but it was the best defenseman in the world, Nick Lidstrom, who rifled a shot past Niitymaki for game winning 3-2 goal.

And who was on the ice for the final minute? Lidstrom and Zetterberg. Zetterberg blocked a shot in the final fifteen seconds. Both players are regularly on the ice to protect a lead for the Wings.

Some pundits call chemistry over rated. Those pundits are just going to continue shoving both feet in their mouths. It was chemistry that game Sweden the edge in these Olympics, much like it was chemistry that gave the NBA Eastern All-Stars the win at the All-Star game last week.

Both USA and Canada need to pay attention to what these two teams, and the Czechs (they may as well have been called the Czech Republic Rangers) did to assemble the top three teams in these Olympics. Otherwise, look for the same three teams to finish at the top in four years in Vancouver.