MILAN \u2014 The Olympic Village is the place to be before and after hockey games.<\/p>\n
Just take Thursday. Early in the afternoon the day after the U.S. men\u2019s hockey team beat Sweden in the quarterfinals, U.S. players Matthew Tkachuk, Zach Werenski and Connor Hellebuyck hopped on Lime scooters to head to lunch \u2014 only to run into Sweden\u2019s Lucas Raymond and Germany\u2019s Tim St\u00fctzle, whose team lost to Slovakia in the quarters, waiting with long faces for Ubers so they could head to the airport for return flights to North America.<\/p>\n
An awkward meeting, or no?<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it\u2019s weird,\u201d Tkachuk said. \u201cI think we obviously expected to be in the semifinals, and then we\u2019re dealt a really tough task with Sweden, and one of us had to go home. And fortunately for us, we\u2019re still here, but I would have a hard time wrapping my head around it if we were heading home today. It\u2019s very unfortunate for them, because they\u2019re a hell of a team and one of the best in the world. They probably deserve to be in the semifinals. So do we.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Tkachuk relayed the story, the U.S. coaching staff, led by Mike Sullivan, was filing into cars to go back to their hotel. Only five staff members from each nation\u2019s hockey team can stay in the Village, and those are essential athletic trainers and doctors. The coaches are inconveniently staying several kilometers away, but to conduct a team meeting Thursday morning \u2014 reviewing the Sweden win and beginning a pre-scout on semifinal opponent, Slovakia \u2014 it was easier for the coaches to come to the Village rather than arranging a bus to bring 25 hockey players to their hotel.<\/p>\n
As the men\u2019s coaches prepared to depart, U.S. women\u2019s coach John Wroblewski walked out and gave U.S. men\u2019s assistant coach John Hynes a bear hug.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet it done,\u201d Hynes told his protege and former U.S. National Team Development Program assistant a few hours before the Canada-U.S. women\u2019s gold-medal matchup.<\/p>\n
That game is set for 1:10 p.m. Eastern time and 7:10 p.m. local, which is practically a matinee for the men\u2019s team. On Friday, they will play their fifth consecutive 9:10 p.m. local time game. That means \u201cmorning skates\u201d in the afternoon, long days of anticipation and 3 or 4 a.m. bedtimes because players are so wired after games.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a little different scheduling,\u201d forward J.T. Miller said. \u201cEverything\u2019s just two hours back. Sleeping a little later than you normally would. The meetings and the video sessions are a little later in the day, but it\u2019s the same as being back home. Try to get the rest and recovery. Take care of your body. Make sure you\u2019re ready when it counts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tkachuk and Werenski offered inside glimpses of what happens after such late finishes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got to bed really late (Wednesday night), so woke up (Thursday), went down (to the dining hall) kind of at the end of breakfast, early lunch, didn\u2019t even eat, just had a coffee and talked to a few people, made a few trades for some pins,\u201d Tkachuk said. \u201cThat\u2019s like my normal morning. Normally, you\u2019re sitting at a table with all the hockey guys, but there is a table of some of the figure skaters from the U.S. and from other countries right next to us.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019re just kind of hanging, talking with them. Bunch of us went to the gym, so did an hour workout, had a meeting, and now got the rest of the day to do whatever we want.\u201d<\/p>\n
And how late of a night was it after the Sweden win?<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember exactly what time we got back, but I would say most of the time our buses after games have been 12:45, which gets us back here at one,\u201d Tkachuk said. \u201cWe all go to the hall, try to get some fuel in us. There\u2019s a few of us that play cards every night after games. I would say last night you\u2019re probably not shutting it down \u2019til the low threes by the time everything\u2019s all said and done. But that\u2019s what happens when you have an Americano and espresso at 6 and 7 p.m. at night. I guess you\u2019re asking for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Werenski said after Wednesday\u2019s game, Sweden\u2019s team was awkwardly sharing that dining hall with the U.S. team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a little weird just with us and Sweden being the only two teams in there,\u201d Werenski said. \u201cObviously, it\u2019s a little bit better for us after a win, but you can imagine, it\u2019ll probably be hard for them in that situation. But it\u2019s all part of the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on Wednesday\u2019s win<\/p>\n
What was it like on the ice and U.S. bench during the frantic final five minutes of Thursday\u2019s third period and then overtime?<\/p>\n
Tkachuk, Miller and Werenski offered their perspectives.<\/p>\n
After a TV timeout with about six minutes left, Hynes called three lines of forwards over to remind players of their five-on-six tendencies in case it got to the point that Sweden pulled its goalie for an extra attacker. That eventually happened, and Mika Zibanejad scored to tie the game, though it\u2019s hard to consider it an extra attacker goal because it came just five seconds after Jacob Markstrom came to the Sweden bench. The extra attacker barely had entered the offensive zone.<\/p>\n
Tkachuk said Hynes reminded players of the forecheck and in-zone responsibilities, as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought we did do a great job,\u201d Tkachuk said. \u201cAnd it was just a hell of a shot. And even (Hellebuyck), he was there on it. He beat him to the post, and it just squeaked in above. But I thought we did a really good job of defending it all. Sometimes, got to tip your cap to an unbelievable shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Miller, Zibanejad\u2019s New York Rangers teammate, \u201c(Hynes) just talked about their tendencies. Obviously, we don\u2019t know that very well. What they like and a couple responsibilities off the faceoff. \u2026 Obviously, Mika has scored a bunch from that spot\u201d<\/p>\n
Said Werenski, \u201cOur coaching staff are super prepared. I mean, you look at our staff and how long they\u2019ve been in NHL \u2014 Stanley Cups and all that \u2014 I mean, it\u2019s a very impressive coaching staff to be around and very smart people. I\u2019ve learned a lot from the 4 Nations last year and now the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Zibanejad scored, Sullivan and Tkachuk tried to pump up the bench. Tkachuk, his brother, Brady, and Jack Eichel didn\u2019t have time to mope. Sullivan put the line out for the ensuing faceoff.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we couldn\u2019t dwell on it at all,\u201d Tkachuk said. \u201cAnd our mindset was just get it in their zone and try to score. And we had a couple looks there, and then (Auston Matthews\u2019) line went (with Jake Guentzel and Matt Boldy), and they were in their zone the whole time. So I thought that that momentum from those two shifts was definitely a positive going into overtime.\u201d<\/p>\n
In overtime, Quinn Hughes became the hero. Werenski was mic\u2019d up and yelled from the bench, \u201cDo your thing, Quinn,\u201d right before Hughes\u2019 winner.<\/p>\n
Werenski and Jake Sanderson had each gotten one shift each between Hughes\u2019 first shift and his last. On the last one, not only did Hughes wave off a line change at one point but he also stayed as far away from the bench as possible so he couldn\u2019t change.<\/p>\n
He wanted to be on the ice for the big moment.<\/p>\n
His teammates understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go down our lineup, probably all the guys on our team are guys that start overtime (and are) out there the majority of it (for their NHL teams),\u201d Werenski said. \u201cQuinn\u2019s probably one of the best in the world at three-on-three overtime. \u2026 Obviously, a guy like him can make plays like that, and you\u2019ve just got to let him do his thing. I mean, I\u2019ve seen it a bunch in the summers (skating with Hughes in Michigan), him make plays like that. I\u2019ve seen it in the NHL, all his highlights. And then obviously at the world\u2019s biggest stage in a moment like that, he\u2019s the guy that comes through.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you trust your teammates, and in that moment, you trust Quinn\u2019s read on that. And he felt like he had a moment where he could help get our team over the finish line, and he did just that, so pretty incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Miller, Hughes\u2019 former Vancouver Canucks teammate, \u201cI couldn\u2019t be happier for Quinn. It sucks playing against him in overtime. There\u2019s not much you can do. He\u2019s gonna get a chance at some point.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when that puck went in, the jubilation is hard to describe.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou get down to these last few games, quarters, semis, finals, they\u2019re all Game 7\u2019s, so you\u2019re aware of the circumstances, you\u2019re aware that you\u2019re either moving on or you\u2019re going home,\u201d Werenski said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost easier being out there \u2014 when you\u2019re in the moment and just playing. When you\u2019re on the bench, you have no control over it. I\u2019m probably more nervous in that situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like we were the better team last night, and I think we deserved to win. Probably made it a little bit closer than we would\u2019ve liked. But yeah, just an incredible game. And those are the moments you\u2019ll always remember playing hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n
On to Slovakia<\/p>\n
The Americans now have a semifinal date with a formidable opponent in Slovakia. They\u2019re hoping for another big win so they can advance to Sunday\u2019s gold-medal game against the Canada-Finland winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s another Game 7 tomorrow, and we understand what\u2019s at stake and how good they\u2019re playing right now,\u201d Werenski said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see all the stuff on social media. I\u2019m sure Quinn\u2019s highlighted and all that stuff, and it\u2019s great. But in terms of our focus, it definitely shifts to Slovakia right away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Added Tkachuk, \u201c(Slovakia\u2019s) playing really, really well right now. And they definitely dominated Germany, probably more than we did (in a 5-1 win on Feb. 15). They beat them more than we beat them when it comes to control of the game. They played really well in that first game against Finland. I actually watched the majority of that game. They played them really, really well. They compete hard. They\u2019re big. They\u2019re physical. They use the crowd. They\u2019re stingy. And they play really hard. Almost like defend really hard and wait for their chances.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s up to us to make sure we\u2019re ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILAN \u2014 The Olympic Village is the place to be before and after hockey games. Just take Thursday.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[230,57,5,54125,38,35,4,2602],"class_list":{"0":"post-464255","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-columbus-blue-jackets","9":"tag-florida-panthers","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-mens-olympic-ice-hockey","12":"tag-minnesota-wild","13":"tag-new-york-rangers","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-olympics"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116101339311177092","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}