There were two takeaways from Team Czechia’s 5-0 loss to Team Canada at the opening game of their Olympic tournament. First, Canada looks like it will be a dominant force at this tournament, and few other countries can match its speed and skill. Second, it could be a long tournament for Czechia due to a lack of depth in their lineup.
The loss of Pavel Zacha will be bad news for Czechia. They lack NHL talent up front, and losing the Boston Bruins’ center is going to cost them against the top hockey nations in this tournament. The Czechs have enough high-end talent to be among the best in the second tier, but facing teams like Canada, Sweden, and the United States could prove difficult.
Zacha may not have been the difference in winning and losing against these top teams, but he definitely would’ve narrowed the gap in terms of depth. The Czech’s top line of Pastrnak, Martin Necas, and Tomas Hertl can go toe-to-toe with most any line in the tournament, but the other lines lost the battles against Canada.
It’s unfortunate for Czechia, which has had some strong appearances at the World Championships over the past couple of years, including gold and bronze medals in the past four years. The nation has been fortunate that their best players are available for those tournaments, but when every country has their best players, they might be slightly overmatched.
The one saving grace for Czechia could be Lukas Dostal. He is always eligible to steal a game for the Anaheim Ducks, and a good performance for him in an elimination game, coupled with a scoring outbreak from Pastrnak, might force an upset.
How Pavel Zacha’s injury affects the Bruins from afar
While it’s never good to see a player injured, Zacha missing the Olympics isn’t the worst thing for the long-term outlook for this season. As long as he recovers in time for the resumption of play, Zacha will be rested for the rest of the stretch run. If the Bruins are going to make the playoffs this season, they’ll need all hands on deck, both healthy and rested.
That’s where the negative comes in for the Bruins. Watching Czechia’s first game, the coaching staff will lean heavily on Pastrnak all tournament. He was worn down by the end of the Canada game and was visibly fatigued. If that is how the rest of the tournament is going to go for Boston’s superstar, his readiness to resume the NHL season could be in danger.