Team Canada faces Czechia in its quarterfinal this morning, can they repeat the preliminary round scenario?
After what seemed like an interminable process, the preliminary round is finally over, and the puck is about to drop on a meaningful game for Montreal Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki and Team Canada. At 10:40 AM ET, they’ll take on Czechia for the second time in this tournament. Both teams were in Group A and met in their first game of the preliminary round, with Canada winning 5-0.
Speaking after Czechia’s win over Denmark on Tuesday, the Colorado Avalanche winger Martin Necas said:
We let them win the first one, because we knew that we're not going to win two in a row against Canada.
He was, of course, joking and managed to get quite a few laughs from reporters. His teammate, David Pastrnak, had a much more down-to-business approach and said:
It might be the best team ever, so maybe we have to put the respect aside a little bit and try to take their game to them.
Necas has been Czechia’s top scorer since the start of the tournament, putting up seven points in four games, and he’ll be the man to watch for Canada, but if Czechia is to have a chance to win the duel, Pastrnak, who only has four points in four games, will need to hit another level.
Meanwhile, Canada, which hasn’t really been tested so far, needs to remain in the moment and not take anything for granted. With Brad Marchand being healthy and ready to go for the quarterfinal, there’s been a lot of speculation about who would make way for him on the Canadian side. Suzuki has been one of the names floated out there as a potential healthy scratch.
On the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman said:
The one guy who has not yet hit the level I thought and expected from him, Kyle, has been Nick Suzuki. I’m wondering if when Marchand shows up for the quarterfinal, if Suzuki is the guy who gets scratched, because he’s been battling to find his way here and, I was looking who’s going to come out if Marchand comes in, and because Marchand has been a winger with MacKinnon, including earlier in the tournament, I’m wondering if that could make Suzuki vulnerable.
While Friedman has a point that Suzuki has not played to the level we’re used to seeing him play with the Canadiens, his role is very different. I think the fact that he’s a center and plays on the penalty kill may save him from the chop. Still, with that kind of talent on the team, it’s not possible to dismiss the idea entirely. Earlier this morning, two Team Canada players skated: third-string goalie Darcy Kuemper and forward Sam Bennett. They were out there for quite some time, which suggests that they won’t be playing. The lineup should be revealed closer to puck drop, which is set for 10:40 AM ET.
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