2016 World Cup of Hockey Report (Day 3)
The World Cup of Hockey is unlike any other major international hockey tournament for the sheer length of the tournament.
In the World Championship, there is a total of 16 teams that participate making it close to a month-long tournament.
The round-robin alone takes a few weeks to finish as every team needs to play seven games against their own group.
The Olympic Tournament is slightly different as well as the tournament is just one major tournament among a number of major tournaments throughout the two weeks of the Olympics.
Although it is the biggest tournament in the Olympic program it is not the only thing going on with plenty of other events.
The World Cup is unique in that it takes the rapid pace of the Olympic tournament and the timing of the world championship.
There is no hockey going on and in these weeks that they are playing they can be the feature of the sports world, although football will take over on Sundays.
The NHL decided to make this tournament different in a constant attempt to bring interest to hockey throughout the world.
It is something they have attempted to do throughout the league in the last few years.
They have attempted to make the game more exciting by freeing up the ice with less ability to hold teams up and different rules.
The World Cup is the expression of what they would like to see when the best players get together.
In the World Championship teams have to play seven games in the round robin and inevitably putting those teams together is going to mean some teams are not at the same levels.
Some games are truly throwaway games and with so many of them the tournament can drag on with stretches of meaningless games.
The NHL didn’t want to see any of those stretches in the return of the World Cup and so they only include eight teams total.
With those eight teams split into two groups, the games become so much more important in the round robin.
Add in that only the top two teams from each group make the playoffs and every game becomes that much more important.
Losing one game in the World Cup can be devastating as it could take one game to eliminate a team from the chance of winning the title.
For the teams that played their first game and couldn’t get a win, they are already behind with every game they have left a must-win in order to find a playoff spot.
The Czechs were in that spot as they lost their first game before playing Team Europe in their second game.
A win would save their tournament while a loss would make them have to watch the scoreboard on Day 4 to see if they had a chance at the medals.
They didn’t get the win but they got the next best thing in earning a point for taking Europe to overtime.
That has given them a chance especially as the tournament moves on to another day.
In Day 4 the Canadians take on the Americans and if the Americans lose the Czechs will be eliminated while with a win the Czechs are in it until the final days of the round robin.
In Group B the battle is even tighter with Russia getting their first win tying them with North America and Sweden for the top spot.
There is no room for error in this tournament as a loss has already made life tough for a number of teams.
That battle continues as the tournament moves on and the battle for the playoffs comes into focus with only a few games left.
That is how the NHL designed it as the tournament is meant to have important games throughout the tournament and so far that is what is happening through three days of the World Cup.
Day 3:
Europe 3-2 Czech Republic (OT)
– The Czechs did not open their tournament in the best way losing a big game to Canada and looking outmatched while Europe looked like the opposite in their first game and the Europeans got another win although the Czechs stole a point
Russia 4-3 North America
– The Russians came so close to tying their first game against Sweden and they took it out on the young guns from North America although they had to hold off a big comeback that was almost complete by the younger team
Day 4:
Finland vs. Sweden (Tuesday, September 20th; 3:00 pm ET)
– It is rivalry day in the World Cup as the two Scandinavian countries face-off in what is an important game for both as a loss for Finland could end their title hopes while the win for Sweden could guarantee a playoff spot
Canada vs. USA (Tuesday, September 20th; 8:00 pm ET)
– The USA were surprised by the Europeans in their first game as they did not show up to compete but they have plenty of motivation in their second game as they look to get their first win against tournament hosts and favourites, Canada
The Sport Addiction 