The first of the last pre-tournament games starts tonight and it is only one game on the docket, as Team USA will play host to Finland in Washington DC, in a 5pm MT start on Sportsnet.
The Americans were the first ones on the ice in the morning and the first goalie off the ice, generally identifying the starter, was Jonathan Quick, leading the discussion to be the number one guy in the tournament. The coaching staff did not confirm if Quick would get the entire 60 minutes, as they have split every game so far in the warm-up schedule. Ben Bishop will be the back-up tonight, which means Cory Schneider will be the healthy scratch, as the third goalie.
For the Finns, it looks like they are going to go with their number one goalie, Pekka Rinne, for the start, giving him a head start with his team and he is expected to get the whole game. The Finns do appear to be in it to win it this time around, running a pretty hot streak in international (or as international as this gets) play.
So, after the draft was all said and done, Dale had picked up Quick, while Neil chose Bishop and Clayton secured Rinne. If a team has picked a goalie, they're hoping for starts, first and foremost, and then the hope that it can translate into wins for points.
No comments:
Post a Comment