WASHINGTON, D.C. -- During the eight respective training camps before the World Cup of Hockey, most of the buzz surrounded Team Canada, Team USA, Team North America, Sweden and Finland as possible favorites to contend for the best-on-best crown. When Team Europe dismissed Sweden 6-2 in the preseason finale on Wednesday, it raised the question: What type of success will Europe have in this tournament?
Europe's eclectic roster is no doubt talented, but bringing a group of players from different countries together for an international tournament had many wondering how it would work. When the management group and coaching staff began to construct the roster, they must have been shaking their heads while trying to figure out what type of game they wanted to play.
Wednesday's game closed the door on the team's preparation, and it's evident the team has found its structure in time for the real games, after the victory over Team Sweden at Verizon Center. Experience helps, and getting whacked by Team North America in the preseason served as a wakeup call, as coach Ralph Krueger described it.
Jaroslav Halak will be the team's No. 1 goalie, an interesting choice because he suffered a season-ending groin injury March 8 and needed sports hernia surgery during the offseason to repair the damage. Fellow Team Europe goalie Thomas Greiss was solid for the New York Islanders during the playoffs, so many thought he would get the nod for this tournament. Halak is completely healthy, and Team Europe is expecting him to lead the way.
Discipline is the key: Teams wanting to succeed against the Swedes have to stop taking penalties. The Swedes boast one of the best power-play units in the tournament, and they finished the pretournament 3-for-12, which is the result of plenty of practice time spent working on that aspect of the game. The power-play will be a major advantage for Sweden, especially the option, if needed, to keep defenseman Erik Karlsson on the ice for the entire two minutes to quarterback the potent power play. All three extra-man goals in the pretournament were scored by Loui Eriksson.
Hank the Tank: The loss to Team Europe shouldn't bother Team Sweden goalie Henrik Lundqvist. He was pulled in the third period after allowing five goals on 22 shots and was replaced by Jacob Markstrom. It's all about the process and focusing on aspects of the game to improve before the tournament begins. During an NHL training camp, Lundqvist normally plays in three preseason games, but for the World Cup, he played two of three. It was a bit surprising that he allowed five goals against Europe, but it should not be a concern now that the real games are beginning. His focus turns to Russia and its high-powered offense when the teams play Sunday. He moved well in training camp and until Wednesday hadn't shown too many signs of rust after the long offseason. Fortunately, he has one of the best defensive units in the tournament in front of him. No, it didn't look pretty on Wednesday, but it doesn't matter.