Compete Level

practice wrote: ↑Sun Feb 22, 2026 12:02 pmCan't really hate on Binnington but he did basically get out of the way of the winner

Yeah. I think 3-on-3 OT is basically you NEED:

1) to have possession and never give it up
2) your goalie to make a save when the other team gets an inevitable 2-on-1 or guy in alone
3) the other team to miss the net in the #2 scenario

Binnington was totally fine all tournament, just fine tho. Like, he stopped most of the shots you expect, had a couple nice saves, yada yada. He's a bottom tier starter, though, so I guess that went about as well as you'd expect.

MacKinnon: “You be the judge of who was the better team today”

I feel for some of the Canadian guys but not him, enjoy your stuffed animal Nate

My takeaways:

1. US PK was huge. Larkin winning the draw on the 5 on 3, all the hard work from Trocheck and Miller. I basically assumed Canada would score at least one on that but they didn’t really get any A+ chances.

2. I felt like the middle six for Canada didn’t show up that much, which is probably where Crosby’s absence is felt. Like Suzuki made an impact against the Finns but I barely noticed he was in the lineup. Marner, Stone, Horvat, Hagel—I’m sure they had chances, but it was either the super line or the asshole line that really threatened.

3. On the US side, the Tkachuks had some hits early but were otherwise negligible. Matthew doesn’t look up to speed so I wasn’t surprised when Larkin took his spot. But Larkin needed to play center on the third line. Sullivan clearly trusted the Trocheck / Miller / Nelson line more than any other unit vs. the top Canadian guys.

4. I chuckled at Keller getting one 38 second shift. So many people lost their minds about Caufield not making the team, but this was not the game for him.

Grand Moff Larkin wrote: ↑Sun Feb 22, 2026 10:06 pm MacKinnon: “You be the judge of who was the better team today”

I feel for some of the Canadian guys but not him, enjoy your stuffed animal Nate

Just an insufferable prick this asshole. Eat cardboard or whatever you weird freak

Also shame on you Canada for taking Sam Bennett. Ruining a beautiful smile for a guy who probably has orphans in his basement.

sutterfamily wrote: ↑Sun Feb 22, 2026 8:25 pm He's too young to take actual BLAME but Celebrini had like THREE chances to win it in that last PP and missed the net on all of them. Not nearly as bad as McKinnon's but... bad.

Yeah the last one from right in the slot that missed the net entirely and hit the end boards behind the net was straight out of Matthews 2024/25 season

Shocker opinion but I thought Marner was great, set up the McDavid break, created what should have been a 3 on 1 after the first PK and all but scored a goal for Toews, who just simply has to fucking bury that, skate it into the net if you have to. I would have given him a few shifts on the top line but it's not like that line wasn't buzzing all game.

One solace is seeing the no fun no nonsense no carbs no excuses the ultimate competitor Mackinnon come out with stuff that you could imagine any of Toronto's perennial losers saying

On the other hand Marchand Bennett Reinhart were all big 0s, I can think of like 10 Canadian forwards I would want before any of them, so there goes any Leafs related comfort

I thought Hagel and Jarvis were good, Marner too, Mackinnon was off all tourney and gave the puck away before the first goal and missed an open net and was on the ice for winner. McDavid played heroball in OT and lost, and kinda shat himself on the breakaway though I would take another replay to see where the slash hit. Celebrini played his heart out but agree that a goal did not seem like a possible outcome from him today. They really missed Point. Sid too obviously. I would have taken Tavares to win a big draw even.

It was clearly a mistake to not take one of Hyman or Bouchard. Let McDavid pick one. Early in the tournament the clueless BBC announcer said something about Colorado somehow having the last ranked PP in the league, it made me feel not great about locking in 2 of their 5 as our PP1. Or one more puck mover, Dobson or Shaefer for Parayko or Theodore.

I think Mackinnon definitely had a play on that loose puck on OT before he backed off to cover it a bit like a 2-on-1 and turning it into a 1v1 battle. Fffffg

I still can't believe the ref stared down that too many men call at the bench that actually stopped a puck moving in the direction of the US zone.

Anyway truly grateful for the crew here as always

practice wrote: ↑Sun Feb 22, 2026 12:02 pmCan't really hate on Binnington but he did basically get out of the way of the winner

Not a goaltending expert but, yes, I do believe it's considered not a great idea to leave a triangle hole you can calculate the hypotenuse of between your legs.

practice wrote: ↑Mon Feb 23, 2026 3:39 am I thought Hagel and Jarvis were good

Really? These guys were non entities as far as I noticed.

Like, feels kinda nuts but Canada had almost no secondary scoring from forwards almost the entire tournament (not counting France, obv)

When they put their top 3 Cs (Sid excluded) on the same line it would follow that the depth is impacted. I guess the Suzuki line is the 2nd line in this scenario?

practice wrote: ↑Mon Feb 23, 2026 3:39 am I think Mackinnon definitely had a play on that loose puck on OT before he backed off to cover it a bit like a 2-on-1 and turning it into a 1v1 battle. Fffffg

Edited bc I initially thought that was Harley that hesitated in the lead up to the gwg, it was Mackinnon duh. I think that play and the turnover before the first goal were both examples of him basically assuming based on how much he wants to win and how little nonsense he is willing to tolerate that he will end up on the winning end of a puck battle

sutterfamily wrote: ↑Mon Feb 23, 2026 9:11 am

practice wrote: ↑Mon Feb 23, 2026 3:39 am I thought Hagel and Jarvis were good

Really? These guys were non entities as far as I noticed.

I'd like the see the shots/chances type tables for different players and lines. It was interesting to start to wish to see Quinn Hughes out there instead of Sanderson who handled himself really well