New Entry In Czech Book
It’s not our game, not our country and not our problem, but how could Canadian men’s ice hockey coach Marc Crawford fail to use Wayne Gretzky in an Olympic shootout?
To the untrained American eye, it was like excluding Babe Ruth from a homerun hitting contest, benching Jim Brown in an NFL championship game, ordering Michael Jordan to pass in the NBA Finals.
As Czech coach Slavomir Lener said, “Everyone is a general after the battle.” Now, after Canada’s shocking 2-1 defeat, Crawford must face an entire nation of Douglas MacArthurs.
The issue probably won’t be Gretzky; he is notoriously weak on breakaways. Indeed, most Canadian hockey experts seemed more troubled by Crawford’s selection of Ray Bourque than the snubbing of The Great One.
In any case, the controversy will overshadow an absolute gem of a semifinal, one of the magical events of these Games, an upset that ranks among the biggest in hockey history.
Indeed, if the United States had been involved, American reporters probably would have described it breathlessly as “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” with Czech shootout hero Robert Reichel playing the role of Alan Ameche.
Alas, the only gold Team USA won was in fire-extinguisher tossing. No matter. If you’re still wondering about the merits of NHL players competing in the Olympics, just obtain a tape of the Canada-Czech Republic classic.
The only shame is that it came down to a shootout after 70 brilliant minutes, after spectacular goaltending by Patrick Roy and Dominik Hasek, after Trevor Linden’s tying goal for Canada with 73 seconds left in regulation.
Stanley Cup games that end in ties are decided by sudden-death overtime goals, not one-on-one duels between the goaltenders and five selected shooters from each team.
The rules are the rules in international play - one 10-minute overtime, then the shootout. Reichel banged in his goal off the left post on the first Czech attempt. He was the only player on either team to score.
The Czechs stood in front of their bench during the shootout, their arms wrapped around each other. The Canadians also stood, hunched over the boards.
Crawford, the coach of the Colorado Rockies, sent out Theoren Fleury, Bourque, Joe Nieuwendyk, Eric Lindros and Brendan Shanahan.
None came close to beating Hasek.
“We did consider using Wayne,” Crawford said. “We had so many great shooters and scorers. I don’t think you can go wrong with any decision you could have made. It’s obvious the five guys that went couldn’t solve Dominik.”
Gretzky probably couldn’t have, either - he has scored only 13 goals for the New York Rangers this season, and contributed none in five Olympic games. What’s more, at one point in his career, he supposedly missed 19 consecutive breakaways.
Granted, he is a better passer than a shooter, but he’s still the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer. Take his 875 career goals and Steve Yzerman’s 552, and that’s 1,427 goals Crawford left on the bench.
Yzerman refused to criticize the coach. “I wouldn’t question anybody they picked. They’re all excellent shooters, clutch guys.” But Bourque said he was surprised to be chosen, and Gretzky second-guessed Crawford, in his own way.
“All of the decisions made by the coaches had been right,” he said. “I would have liked to have been one of the shooters, but I’m not going to question the decision. We have a lot of great scorers.”
Crawford said the Canadian goaltenders told him that the ice was “heavy” after 30 minutes on the same sheet, and advised him to consider each player’s strength along with his puck control and shooting ability.
Bourque is a defenseman, but he frequently wins shooting and skills competitions at the All-Star Game. On the other hand, he said he has taken only two penalty shots in his career, and never participated in a shootout.
Forward Mark Recchi said the injured Joe Sakic tried to phone down a message - speed up on Hasek, then slow down. But the phone by the bench apparently was off the hook, and the message never was delivered.
Sakic might have helped. Paul Kariya, another injured player, might have helped. But in the end, Crawford was left with Shanahan, who lacks both big-time moves and big-game presence.
“I feel like I let down my team,” Shanahan said. “I feel like I let down my country.”
The sad truth is, he did.
With 14 medals through Friday, Canada will finish with its highest Winter Olympics total ever, and more medals than the United States for the first time in either a Summer or Winter Games.
Still, the failure of the men’s ice hockey team to win gold likely will mean that the Canadian effort is considered a failure.
Lener, the Czech coach, defended Crawford, but he also praised Gretzky for playing “his biggest game in the tournament.”
“He did a great job defensively,” Lener said. “It was unbelievable such a guy was playing on the checking line. He was very dangerous. He created a lot of scoring opportunities.”
Would Lener have used him in a shootout?
“It’s really hard to judge now,” he said. “As Mark said, you go by your feel. Your instincts say, ‘Hey, I’ve done this right, I’ve done that right.’
“Who would have sent Linden on the ice with 2 minutes to go? He has struggled this year. He’s been their 13th guy in this tournament. But he scored the tying goal. (Crawford) decided by instinct again in the shootout. I wouldn’t blame Mark.”
No sweat, Slavomir - it’s not our game, not our country, not our problem. But Canadians from the Maritimes to the Rockies will want answers. Everyone is a general after the battle, and the Canadians just lost the war.