Canada Routs Czech Republic in 6-0 Victory

Canada had no issue dealing with the Czech Republic at the World Cup of Hockey, defeating their opponents 6-0 to open the tournament on home soil.

The first ten minutes saw some tremendous action that can only be reached in an important international hockey game. Both teams exchanged great chances, including Sidney Crosby who brought the Canadian fans to their feet with a nice breakaway chance early on. Michael Neuvirth, however, was there for the big stop, catching it in his glove to keep the game scoreless early in the battle.

Fittingly, Crosby would get the first goal of the game a little later on. With 11:34 left in the opening period, Crosby took the puck off of a rebound and circled around the net. Crosby tried to send the puck out to Brad Marchand who was in front but instead managed to bank it off of the left bad of Neuvirth and in to give Canada the 1-0 lead before the first period was half over.

With 2:50 left, Canada extended their lead to two goals. Right off the faceoff, Crosby won it to Marchand. who sent the puck back to Brent Burns. Burns, known for his eccentric beard, took a hard slap shot from the point, hitting Neuvirth off the mask and bouncing in for the 2-0 lead late in the period.

The top line was dynamite for Canada, and they would strike for another goal in the final second of the opening period. With 0.3 seconds left, Patrice Bergeron took a pass from his Bruins teammate, Marchand. Crosby made an effective screen by jumping in the way of Neuvirth, allowing Bergeron to score a buzzer beater to give Canada the 3-0 advantage heading into the middle frame.

“I think we just tried to go out there and work,” Crosby said. “I thought we played hard, and we worked. It didn’t come easy, and we worked for that, and got rewarded . . . I think finding chemistry with our line has helped.

Canada would take the 4-0 lead about seven minutes into the second, and, of course, Crosby had to be a part of it. After deking out two Czech defenders, Crosby sent the puck out front to Joe Thornton. Thornton had no problems in front of the net, with the 2004 World Cup champion tapping it home easily for the 4-0 lead.

With 5:12 left in the second, Canada scored again. It didn't come easy, however, despite a power play creating a lot of chances around the net. A minute prior, Steven Stamkos was flat out robbed by Neuvirth, who came across the ice in a desperate attempt to keep the puck out and deflected the puck away with his glove. But, shortly after, Jonathan Toews jammed in a rebound attempt from Ryan Getzlaf, beating the Philadelphia Flyers goaltender to make it 5-0. The third period saw the Czech's hold on to allow just one goal, a point shot from Alex Pietrangelo that finished off the 6-0 victory for Canada.

Carey Price, who notched his fourth straight shutout in official tournament play for Canada, gave full credit to his defense in front of him for keeping the puck away.

"It's a Hockey Canada staple, to make it really tough to score," Price said following the game. "It's a real pleasure to play behind."

Head coach Mike Babcock had good praise for the Czech's, especially Neuvirth who had to make 44 saves on 50 shots.

"Usually, the team that loses today gets better tomorrow," Babcock said. "And usually the team who wins today gets fatter tomorrow."

Crosby, was proud of the performance his line, and team, pulled off.

“It’s nice, I think, when the team has success, and as a line has success. It’s nice not having to change it. It’s a good sign when everyone stays together.”

Canada will attempt to stay perfect in their next matchup, an 8:00 PM meeting with their rivals from the United States. The Czech's will hope to rebound against Team Europe on Monday afternoon, a game that could spell the end of the Czech's chances in this event. 

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