What an incredible two weeks for six of the Chicago Blackhawks!

In Sunday’s gold medal game, the United States and Canada played a legendary game that featured all of the drama the Olympics is about. Finally, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews put the puck in the next to push his point total to eight (one goal, seven assists) in the tournament. Toews was voted the best forward of the Olympic tournament by the media, and led the tournament in assists. He also ended the tournament fifth in faceoff win percentage at 64.76. The United States’ goalie Ryan Miller was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, but a strong case was made for Toews to win that honor as well.

Duncan Keith ended the tournament tied for second among all Olympic defensemen with six points (six assists). His +6 rating was tied with fellow Canadians Drew Doughty and Eric Staal for third in the tournament; Toews tied for the overall tournament lead in plus-minutes at +9 with Ryan Suter of the United States. Amazingly, not a single goal was scored in the tournament while Toews was on the ice.

Brent Seabrook became the seventh defenseman for Canadian (and Red Wings) coach Mike Babcock, and average just 8:26 on the ice per game in the tournament. Seabrook did record one assist, however, and ended the Olympics +2 despite his lack of playing time.

For the United States, Patrick Kane was the object of some criticism before the medal rounds began. Some national analysts went as far as to say that Kane was as disappointing for the US as Toews was exceptional for Canada. In five games, Kane had only one point on a goal early in the tournament. However, Kane silenced his critics in his final two games.

In the medal round against Finland, Kane led the Americans with two goals. Then, in the gold medal game, Kane was the exceptional creator Hawks fans know. He was credited with an assist on both of the United States’ goals, the first being a re-directed shot that got past Roberto Luongo and the second a quick release in traffic that Luongo left enough of for Zach Parise to score the dramatic game-tying goal with just 24.4 seconds left in regulation. Kane ended the Olympics with five points (three goals, two assists) and a +4 rating.

Slovakia, a darkhorse in the tournament featuring a handful of NHL players including Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky, advanced further than any team in the country’s history. The hard-fought loss to Finland, in which Hossa scored a goal and had an assist, ended a great run in which Hossa finished second in the Olympics in scoring with nine points (three goals, six assists). Kopecky played very well, and will hopefully see his confidence carry over to the final six weeks of the NHL season.

The best case scenario for the NHL, and the Chicago Blackhawks, has been realized: the United States will play Canada for the gold medal on Sunday afternoon.

Round II: For the Gold, Sunday

On Friday, the United States began the day’s action with a jaw-dropping annihilationof Finland. It took the US less than 12 minutes to put six goals on the board against two goalies as the Americans ran away with a 6-1 victory. After quietly putting up some of the best numbers of any netminder in the tournament, Mikka Kipprusoff appeared to remove himself from the game after allowing four of the six goals, many of which were easily preventable goals.

After some analysts had pointed out how little Patrick Kane had done for the US compared to the impact his five Chicago teammates have had for Slovakia and Canada, the young forward responded with his best game of the Olympics. Kane scored two goals and was much more aggressive with the puck, leading the onslaught. Among US forwards, only Ryan Kesler was on the ice more than Kane (17:04) on Friday.

Ryan Miller continued his exceptional play between the pipes, running his shutout streak to 112 minutes entering the gold medal game.

In the night game, Canada was simply too deep for the Cinderella team from Slovakia. None of the Blackhawks were involved in the scoring in the game, but Duncan Keith led Canadian defensemen in ice time. Early in the game, Canadian coach Mike Babcock played Brent Seabrook with Keith for a rare few minutes in the tournament before putting youngster Drew Doughty back with Keith.

In his limited action, Seabrook was +1 for Canada. Keith was -1 and Toews even on the night, and none of the Hawks had an assist or goal. Among Canadian forwards, only Sidney Crosby was on the ice longer than Toews.

For Slovakia, Marian Hossa enters the bronze medal game tied with Pavol Demitra for the team lead with seven points (both have two goals and five assists in the tournament). Both Hossa and Demitra were held scoreless in an exhilarating third period, though, as Slovakia came as close as 3-2 in a well-played loss. This is the best performance by a Slovak team in any Olympics.

Perhaps the biggest surprise for Slovakia, and a wonderful development for the Blackhawks, was the solid play of Tomas Kopecky. On the talented roster in Chicago, Kopecky has been lost in the shuffle and has struggled to find his niche after signing as a free agent with his good friend Hossa this past summer. In the Olympics, however, Kopecky displayed a confidence and quality of play that has not been seen in a Blackhawks’ uniform yet this year. In fact, Kopecky performed well enough that in the last minute of the game, when Slovakia was pressing to tie the game, Kopecky was on the ice.

Sunday’s gold medal game will air on NBC at 2:00 pm in Chicago.

After a wild Wednesday, all six representatives of the Chicago Blackhawks have a shot at a medal in the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The day began with the United States defeating Switzerland 2-0 in a game that was actually dominated by the losing goalie. Anaheim’s Jonas Hiller was arguably the best player on the ice, but the one goal he allowed was too many as the Americans’ exceptional defense was too much for the Swiss.

Patrick Kane and the United States will play Finland at 2:00 pm on Friday.

Canada was supposed to play Russia in prime time, but the Russians forgot to show up. When the dust settled, both Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith had two assists each and the host nation won with a score more likely to happen in a football game than ice hockey. The 7-3 loss was one of the worst in Russian Olympic history, and establishes Canada as the team to beat moving forward.

In the late game, Slovakia was the decided underdog against the reigning Olympic champions from Sweden. But in a game highlighted by three assists from Marian Hossa and a big goal from Tomas Kopecky, the Slovaks upset the Swedes 5-4 to buy another couple games.

Toews, Keith, Brent Seabrook and Canada will face Hossa, Kopecky and Slovakia at 8:30 pm on Friday.

So far in the tournament, the Blackhawks’ leading scorer is Toews with seven points, all from assists (he leads the entire tournament in points, assists and plus-minus at +9). One of the three players tied with Toews for the tournament lead in points is Hossa (two goals, five assists). Kane and Kopecky each have just one point in the tournament by virtue of scoring a goal, with Kopecky’s coming at a crucial time on Wednesday night. Seabrook has one point as well, an assist. Keith, like Toews, has not yet scored a goal but has been credited with five assists in the tournament.

Earlier this week, a case was made that Blackhawks’ captain Jonathan Toews was the most valuable player on Canada’s Olympic team. However, after watching Canada destroy Russia to advance to the medal rounds, it is becoming clear that Toews should be on a very, very short list of names being considered for the overall tournament Most Valuable Player.

Toews received subtle praise from Canadian coach Mike Babcock before Wednesday night’s game when the lines were rearranged for the game against Russia. Toews stayed with Mike Richards, but Rick Nash was moved off the line with Sidney Crosby that had been so successful to be next to the Hawks’ center. The Toews-Nash-Richards line was specifically put together to play against the Russian line featuring Alexander Ovechkin; somehow Crosby dodged the assignment.

The defensive job done by this line, along with the stellar play of Canadian defensemen Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Duncan Keith, Shea Weber, and Drew Doughty, held Ovechkin to three shots on goal. Yes, Russia didn’t show up at all and everyone on their roster played a terrible game.  But after the effort Ovechkin brought to beat the Czech Republic in the round-robin, and considering that the game was getting out of hand for Russia quickly, even the thought that one of the more trigger-happy players in the NHL would be limited to threeshots on goal is incredible. Toews played a major role in that effort.

Beyond just the job Toews and his teammates did defensively on Wednesday night, Toews has been exceptional the entire tournament. Through Wednesday night’s game, Toews is the overall tournament leader in plus-minus with an astounding +9 rating, leads the entire tournament field with seven assists, and is tied with Canada teammate Dany Heatley, Pavol Demitra and Chicago teammate Marian Hossa for the overall tournament points lead at seven. Toews also ranks sixth overall in the tournament in faceoff win percentage at 63.77 through five games.

When you review the IIHF leader sheets attached, you’ll notice that Toews is the only name consistently at the top of each.

In each of Canada’s last three games, Toews has been one of the best players on the ice for either team. His unselfish play on a team full of superstars is something any collection of individuals needs to be successful. In five games, Toews has only taken six shots. Toews is averaging almost three shots per game in the regular season for the Blackhawks and is tied for second on the team with 19 goals; we’re not talking about assist-only Joe Thornton here. Toews is a very good scorer. But he has taken a secondary scoring role because it’s what Canada needs from him, and he’s rewarded his countrymen with an exceptional tournament.

The three remaining players that have had the greatest impact on the Olympic tournament are Toews, Heatley and United States goalie Ryan Miller. Toews’ statistics are more impressive than Heatley’s in every category other than goals scored, though. While a wonderful case can be made for Miller, the most valuable skater in the tournament has been Toews.

Canada's Most Valuable Player?

The obvious choices for an MVP for Team Canada so far are Sidney Crosby and Dany Heatley. The Pittsburgh superstar is one of the two most hyped players in the NHL right now (with Alexander Ovechkin), and both have done a good job of coming up big when asked both throughout the NHL regular season and again in the Olympic Games. Crosby is tied for the scoring lead for Canada with five points (two goals, three assists) with Heatley (four goals, one assist).

There have been so many outstanding performers on Canada’s roster, and yet the most valuable might be Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews.

Toews is just one point behind Heatley and Crosby with four points (all assists), but here is where the differences are between the two top scorers and Toews. First, Crosby and Heatley are playing heavier minutes than Toews. Crosby leads all Canadian forwards in ice time, averaging 17:34 per night, while Heatley is averaging 14:44 per game after three contests. Toews, on the other hand, is not only playing fewer minutes (13:42 ATOI), but he’s doing it flipping between his natural center position and wing, depending on what Babcock wants to do.

Another difference between Toews and Heatley and Crosby is that Toews hasn’t been whistled for a penalty yet in the tournament. Crosby took a penalty at a terrible time in the game against the United States on Sunday, and is tied with Eric Staal for the team high with four penalty minutes in the tournament. Heatley has served two penalty minutes to date.

However, the third and biggest difference between these three candidates for the team’s most valuable player is the team’s scoring margin while they’re on the ice. Crosby is -1 for the tournament so far, after finishing the US game -3 despite scoring a goal himself. Heatley, meanwhile, is just +1 for the tournament. Toews has the best plus/minus not only on team Canada, but his +4 is the best among all forward in the entire Olympic games. Only USA defensemen Bryan Rafalski and Ryan Suter, both +5, have a better rating in the entire tournament.

Toews has not been selfish, putting only five shots on net through three games. But when he’s been on the ice, he’s been productive and, more importantly, has kept Canada’s opposition off the board. He’s been a strong penalty killer for Babcock and has played a couple of positions without complaining.

If you look at the numbers, the most valuable player on Canada’s roster so far is Jonathan Toews.

By virtue of defeating Canada on Sunday night, the United States not only won their group but also clinched the top overall seed in the Olympic playoffs. The US was allegedly undersized and didn’t have as much fire power as Russia or Canada, but the US tied Canada for the most goals scored in the round-robin portion of the tournament (14). The US also had the best goal differential as a team in the three games to date (+9) in the entire field.

In the first round of the Olympic playoffs, the Blackhawks will be represented in two games on Tuesday, Feb. 23. Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Canada will face Germany at 6:30 pm. The caffeine game will once again feature Marian Hossa, Tomas Kopecky and Slovakia as they play Norway. The puck is scheduled to drop at 10:55 pm in Chicago for the latest game on the ice Tuesday.

Both Canada vs. Germany (6:30) and Slovakia vs. Norway (10:55) will air on CNBC.

Patrick Kane and the United States will face the winner of Switzerland vs. Belarus on Wed. Feb. 24. In the preliminary rounds of the tournament, the US defeated Jonas Hiller and Switzerland 3-1.

If Canada gets past Germany, they will play Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Russia. If Hossa, Kopecky and Slovakia get past Norway, they will face Sweden.

Based on how the seeding has lined up the brackets, the United States will not face Canada or Russia until the gold medal game. They would, however, need to beat the Czech Republic to advance to the gold medal game.

Wow.

It wasn’t 1980’s “Miracle on Ice,” but Sunday night’s game between Canada and the United States felt like rivals from opposite sides of the tracks meeting for a grudge match with everything on the line. The game didn’t determine a medal, but the only two rosters in the Olympics filled exclusively with NHL players put on a show that was on par with the best Stanley Cup matches in recent history.

Ryan Miller was absolutely incredible between the pipes for the United States. He stopped 42 of 45 shots, most of which were in traffic. The Canadians had more, and better, opportunities than the US, but Miller was the difference. If there was ever a supreme example to define the term “standing on his head,” it was Miller on Sunday. Time after time, Canada threw the puck at the net and Miller conquered the challenge.

When Canada did score, the Blackhawks fingerprints were all over the goals. In the first period, with Canada trailing 1-0, Eric Staal finished an impressive passing display from Jonathan Toews and Brent Seabrook to tie the game. In the second period, with Canada again trailing, Toews spun in traffic and threw the puck at Miller. The redirect found Dany Heatley, all alone, for an easy score. The score was tied at two, and Toews had assists on both goals.

Even Seabrook, who’s minutes have been limited by Canada (and Detroit) head coach Mike Babcock, was a force in the first two periods. Seabrook ended the night +1 with his early assist. In the closing moments of the thrilling win for the United States, Duncan Keith made a crisp pass to Rick Nash, who sent the puck towards the net. Sidney Crosby redirected the puck into the net, giving all three Canadian Blackhawks an assist in the game.

Throughout an intense game played at an epic level, the Blackhawks representatives performed as well, if not better, than many of the other superstars in the game. Patrick Kane dazzled with his puck handling through traffic in the second and third period as the United States played with a lead, and his handling through traffic in the third period had national analysts raving on Twitter. He wasn’t credited with an assist in the game, but Kane stood out for the United States.

Yes, Canada lost the game, but their effort was superb. Sidney Crosby and Rick Nash, the stars that anchor the top line for Canada, ended the night -3, and Nash pointed out between the second and third periods that mental lapses were what killed the Canadians. Martin Brodeur wasn’t his usually dominant self, allowing four goals on just 22 shots.

Where the Olympic tournament goes from here is a book waiting to be written, but this game was played above any playoff intensity any of the Blackhawks have ever felt and the youngsters all performed incredibly well. The United States, who defeated Canada for the first time since 1960, earned a bye through the first round of the Olympic playoffs with their victory.

Speaking of 1960, the US team was wearing throwback jersey modelled after the ones worn the last time they defeated their neighbors to the north.

On Sunday the United States will play Canada in a game that will have a lot at stake for the two nations. Despite the game not being available in HD (because NBC sucks), the impact of the game on the Olympic tournament could be huge.

Obviously, the most pressure of these Olympic games, for any country in any sport, is on the men’s hockey team for Canada. A team full of all stars playing the host country’s national pastime is good enough on paper to win the gold medal, but will have millions of people watching every breath they take for two weeks (where’s Sting when you need him?).

Even with the geographic rivalry between the two nations, and the reality that there are many guys on both roster that will be hitting NHL teammates on Sunday, the game carries added importance because of how the Olympic tournament is set up.

There are three groups into which the 12 teams were placed, and the tournament begins with a round-robin within those groups to determine seeding for the playoffs. How points are awarded during the round-robin portion of the tournament is different than in the NHL as well. For a regulation win,  team gets three points, an overtime win is worth two, an overtime loss is worth one, and a regulation loss is worth zero.

Entering the weekend, the United States is tied with the Czech Republic, Finland and Sweden for the top in points after the field has played two games with the maximum six points. Canada is alone with five points, one ahead of the Russian Federation with four. Marian Hossa and Tomas Kopecky’s Slovak team has two points, and Switzerland has one. Norway, Latvia, Belarus and Germany all have yet to score a point in the tournament.

The United States and Canada, though, are in the same group of four with Switzerland and Norway. Because Canada received only two points for their shootout win against Switzerland, they trail the United States in the group as well as overall in the tournament.

On Saturday, the bottom feeding teams will all play their third game of the round-robin portion of the tournament. Sunday will determine the top of the playoff seeding for the playoffs, which awards a first round bye to the top four teams based on points.

Before the US plays Canada, Russia will play the Czech Republic in what could be a spirited, up-and-down game with a lot of scoring and even more hitting. With Russia trailing the Czech Republic in their group by two points, even an overtime loss will guarantee the Czechs of a victory in that group and a bye in the first round of the playoffs with seven points. A regulation win for Russia would tie those two teams with six points, and open the door for the US to get an even higher seed.

Because the US leads Canada by one point entering Sunday’s game, an overtime loss to Canada would give Canada the overall win in the group (by virtue of defeating the US) but would give both teams seven points, likely getting both a bye in the playoffs.

After the US-Canada game on Sunday the other two six-point teams, Finland and Sweden, will play to determine their group’s winner.

After watching the last few days of Olympic hockey, it has become clear that there are two players on the United States team who are the keys to an upset of Canada on Sunday: David Backes of the Blues and the Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane.

Backes has been the only skater for the United States who has clearly made a visual impact to the viewing audience in both of the USA’s games. He’s been the most consistent physical force on the ice for the United States, “politely” coming to the defense of teammates after questionable hits and also cleaning up the trash in corners when the puck needs to move.

He has also been a fantastic contributor on the offensive end of the ice. In the first game, he sparked the offense by taking a rebound from Ryan Miller coast-to-coast and scoring a pretty goal despite cotton hanging from his bloody nose.

On Thursday, Switzerland gave Canada all it could handle by playing a physical game. The Swiss played the United States the exact same way, and to the credit of the Americans, it didn’t impact their style of play as much as it appeared to impact what Canada was trying to do.

A big part of the US being able to stay with its plan of attack was Backes taking care of the physical part of the game by forcing Switzerland, and then Norway, to deal with him on the ice.

The other player who will need to play well if the United States has any chance to upset Canada is Kane.

In the first game of the tournament, Kane appeared to be tentative. The chemistry between he and Zach Parise, something Team USA had sold fans as “lightning in a bottle,” was nothing but thunder in the first game.

Thursday that changed.

Parise connected with a couple of one-timers and Kane attacked with the puck with more confidence, opening the ice for the other playmakers on the United States’ roster to move around Kane.

As Blackhawks fans have seen all year, Kane is an absolute magician with the puck. Because of his size, he has, at times, disappeared on the ice (see after he got hit in Detroit just before the Winter Classic last year). This year, though, Kane has been a stronger, more confident player who is better with the puck in traffic and creates space to score for himself.

If the United States hopes to beat Canada, it’ll have to score.

Norway allowed 14 goals in the two games against the United States and Canada, both games showing that these two teams have snipers all over the ice.

Switzerland, on the other hand, played much tighter defense against both the US and Canada. The coaching points for both teams from their respective games against Switzerland were likely very simple: spread the ice, get into space, and get the puck on net.

Canada is loaded with great scorers who can create their own shots. The United States has fantastic scorers as well, but will have to rely on puck movement in the offensive zone to get quality looks at the net.

Kane is the best passer, especially through traffic, on the USA’s roster. He’ll need to show up and create special opportunities for players like Parise and Bobby Ryan if the Americans have a chance to beat Canada.

For the USA, the game plan should be very similar to what Switzerland did on Thursday.

But for that plan to be effective, and for the US to win its group in the Olympic tournament by upsetting the host nation on Sunday, Backes and Kane will need to play their best.

From the Canadian perspective, the last game saw coach Mike Babcock playing with his lines throughout the game. In fact, he did not play Blackhawks’ defenseman Brent Seabrook more than one shift in the third period and Jarome Iginla, who had a hat trick in the first game of the tournament, did not step on the ice in the overtime.

Interestingly, one player that has moved around in different roles on different lines has been Blackhawks’ captain Jonathan Toews. He has been effective in the faceoff circle, but was seen playing wing on the top line next to Sidney Crosby for a big portion of the Switzerland game. Toews had an assist in 13:13 on the ice in that game, and also shot second in the shootout, and is +2 for the tournament.

Canada will have to be more consistent with the puck against the United States than they were against Switzerland, who took advantage of turnovers to force the overtime period and were conservative enough to push the game to the shootout.

Because of the NHL influence on both the US and Canada, and the reality that there will be teammates playing against each other, matchups will be intriguing and how teammates handle each other’s tendencies will play a large roll in the outcome of the game.

If Babcock plays Duncan Keith while Kane is on the ice, he won’t have to worry about needing much of a scouting report. Similarly, if Dan Boyle of the San Jose Sharks matches up with teammate Joe Pavelski, that creates a solid matchup for the Canadians as well. The United States could play Brooks Orpik against his Pittsburgh teammate, Sidney Crosby, and have a solid matchup there as well.

The familiarity between the rosters will create a fun game to watch, but the impact the game will have on the Olympic tournament will be equally important.

The USA-Canada game is scheduled to begin at 6:45 in Chicago, and will air on MSNBC.

Slovakia has been outstanding throughout the Olympic tournament, with a close loss to the Czech Republic in their first game before upsetting the Russians on Thursday night. On Saturday, they’ll play winless Latvia with a chance to place second in the hardest group of the tournament.

Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa had his first goal of the tournament in the third period, tying the game, against Russia on Thursday. He had an assist against the Czechs. Interestingly, NHL.com is now saying that Hossa suffered a concussion after taking a hard hit from Colby Armstrong of the Atlanta Thrashers a week ago. Hossa did not return to that game and missed just one NHL game before beginning the Olympic tournament just four days later.

Hossa has not shown any signs of being hurt on the ice in the Olympic tournament.

The other Blackhawks player on the Slovak team, Tomas Kopecky, has done as much for his country as he has for the Blackhawks this season: almost nothing. He’s been called for a penalty in the tournament, but has not contributed a point yet.

Slovakia plays Latvia at 6:30 PM in Chicago, and the game is scheduled to air on MSNBC.

All six Chicago Blackhawks will be in action on Thursday in Vancouver.

The action starts at 2:00 PM, when Patrick Kane and the United States play Norway. The game is scheduled to air on USA.

Norway was the victim of Canada’s opening night blow-out, while the US skated to a 3-1 victory. Kane skated well, but failed to score a point in the game despite leading team USA with four shots on goal.

At 6:30 PM, Canada plays the Switzerland squad that lost to the United States on Tuesday. The game is scheduled to air on CNBC.

Against Norway, Jonathan Toews was credited with an assist as the host Canadians ran away in the second and third periods. Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook skated with a number of different players, and Seabrook ended up playing the fewest minutes of the seven active defensemen on Canada’s roster. Seabrook did, however, have a couple devastating hits in the game.

Finally, in the late game (again), Slovakia plays Russia. The game is scheduled to begin at 10:55 PM, and air on CNBC.

Russia dominated Latvia in their opener on Tuesday, while Slovakia lost on Wednesday night to the Czech Republic. Marian Hossa had an assist for Slovakia, while Tomas Kopecky contributed nothing in the box score.

Television:

2:00 PM – USA – United States vs. Norway

6:30 PM – CNBC – Canada vs. Switzerland

10:55 PM – CNBC – Slovakia vs. Russia