TORONTO -- Greatest hockey team ever?Let the argument begin.With apologies to the great Soviet national teams of yesteryear that were simply outstanding but didnt get to regularly test themselves against NHL players, Team Canada circa 2014-16 might go down as the most dominating squad to ever hit the ice in the modern era.A perfect 12-0-0 between the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the World Cup of Hockey?-- with Thursday nights thrilling 2-1 victory over Europe at Air Canada Centre as the finishing touch -- is a stretch of hockey we wont soon forget.Its pretty special, said World Cup MVP Sidney Crosby. Its not easy to do, and for a good chunk of us, a lot of us were together there in Russia.Everyone understands playing for Team Canada, youre willing to do anything to win.And with three straight wins in best-on-best hockey when including Canadas gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, its first time thats happened since Canada took home three straight Canada Cups in 1984, 1987 and 1991.And again, the Soviet national teams from the 1950 to 1990 won a million world championships and Olympic gold medals but didnt have to play the very best of the NHL in those tournaments.What stands out in this 12-0-0 run by Team Canada, in which it outscored the opposition 41-11, is that it has come against the very best players in the world, and at no time in either tournament did anyone feel like the result was in doubt.Its impressive to see how dominant Canada have been in the last two big tournaments, the great Nicklas Lidstrom, an adviser to Sweden, said via email on Thursday. Theyve been able to win games even when they havent played their best, and that really shows how strong of a team they have been in these best-on-best tournaments.And thats just it. They won ugly in Game 1 of the World Cup finals and needed a late rally to finish the job Thursday night over a plucky Europe squad. But find a way to win, no matter how they play, is what this Team Canada has done.The 1-0 semifinals win over Team USA in Sochi was close in score only. Canada owned the puck all game long.Team Canada played keep-away with the puck on the bigger ice in Sochi, outscoring the opposition 17-3. Here on the smaller NHL ice at the World Cup, Canada played its more natural game -- a smothering, four-line attack that forced turnovers and created all kinds of zone time and scoring chances en route to outscoring teams 24-8.Its a good group of players right now; just look at the names they leave off. and then [coach] Mike [Babcock] just does a really, really good job of preparing them and getting them ready, and no matter how much each guy is playing, everyone is buying in, Steve Yzerman, architect of the 2010 and 2014 Canadian Olympic teams and now looking on from the outside, said on Thursday. You also have to really credit Hockey Canada from the top on down and how they do things.We wanted to talk ourselves into thinking Sweden or Team USA had a chance to dethrone the champs. But really? Team Canada is a team with the best player in the world in World Cup MVP Sidney Crosby, the two best two-way forwards in the world in Jonathan Toews and Patrice Bergeron, arguably the best defenseman in the world in Drew Doughty (Erik Karlsson might have a say in that) and certainly the best goalie in the world in Carey Price.Isnt that just the kicker with this team, right? When the opposition finally gets a hold of the puck for the odd scoring chance, whether that was in Sochi or here at the World Cup, the last guy standing in its way is Price, whose demeanor is perfect for this team.He gives your group confidence and an aura of calm like no one Ive ever been around, Babcock said of Price.And what of Babcock, arguably the best coach in the game? He has been behind the bench for two Olympic gold medals and now a World Cup championship. He has sold a game plan. And once again, he got a complete buy-in from some of the very best players in the world. Zero pushback. Thats the respect and trust he has built up with these studs.Team Canada had pretournament injury withdrawals from Duncan Keith, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and Jeff Carter ... and didnt blink.Enter Jay Bouwmeester, Logan Couture, Ryan OReilly and Corey Perry.The next time Team Canada laces up for a best-on-best tournament, whether thats the 2018 South Korea Olympics or the next World Cup, Connor McDavid will be front and center. So its not as though Team Canada as a powerhouse is going away.Its such a good group of players, that whole age group, and theres more young ones coming along now that should keep it going for a while, said Yzerman.But one day, this unbelievable stretch will end. Canada will actually lose a game in best-on-best hockey. It will lose a tournament. Team USAs next generation of stars is at hand, a rival of equal footing perhaps soon enough.So to my fellow Canadians, make sure to fully absorb what has happened here during this era. It wont always be this way. Dont take this for granted.This was, by any measure, an unparalleled era of success. cheap jerseys usa . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. wholesale nfl jerseys .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.cheapauthenticjerseysnflchina.net/ . -- Arizona raced out to a big lead and did not back off, hitting the accelerator instead. jerseys from china . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. cheap jerseys from china . The No. 1-ranked Nadal tweaked his back warming up for the Australian Open final, which he lost almost four weeks ago in a major upset against Stanislas Wawrinka. His first stop after the layoff is the clay in Rio as he tests the back and tries to stay healthy for the French Open in three months.It appears that the Toronto Blue Jays have ended the Brett Lawrie at second base experiment. Manager John Gibbons was on MLB Network Radio on Thursday and said that Lawrie would play third base for the remainder of the season. The 23-year-old Lawrie has struggled this season. p; On top of switching from third to second on more than one occasion, the Langley B.dddddddddddd. native has been on the DL twice already this season with ribcage and ankle injuries. In 45 games this season, hes hitting .208 with six home runs. More details to follow. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jersyes Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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