TORONTO – Team Canada dispatched Team USA with clinical precision on Tuesday night. And while they made some personnel changes for tonight’s contest, their steady, effective game remained the same.
Jonathan Toews scored two goals and Sidney Crosby added another as Team Canada beat Team Europe 4-1 on Wednesday night.
Marian Hossa scored his first of the tournament for Team Europe. Corey Crawford, getting his first full start for Team Canada, stopped 19 of 20 shots. Crawford had about eight friends and family members in the crowd.
“I was pretty nervous before the game,” said Crawford. “Wearing the jersey, being on the ice with all those guys, it got me a little nervous. It’s special. I always wanted to be a part of that. To play in the game was awesome.”
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Team Canada will play either Russia or North America in its next game. Russia will advance with a victory over Finland; if Finland wins, North America advances. But Canada is playing better and better with each passing game by concentrating on what it has to do.
“Either way, whether it’s them or the Swedes or whoever we end up playing, the games are going to get tougher and tougher as we go through this tournament,” Toews said. “But our defensive game is improving. We’re allowing less and less shots and we’re staying out of the box. So those are things we have to crack down upon and the offensive chances are always going to be there as long as we do that.”