World Cup of Hockey Canada vs. USA: Live Thread

Get in on the conversation with a World Cup of Hockey live thread for Team Canada v. Team USA 2. Can our very own John Tavares have an impact this time?

It’s Team Canada v. Team USA 2 in World Cup of Hockey pre-tournament play. The USA did what it set out to do against Team Canada in game one, winning 4-2. But, can the Red-White-and-Blue make it 2-0 against their biggest hockey rivals? And what about Tavares?! Will he make his presence known on the score sheet?

In game one of the two-game back-to-back home-and-home series between Team Canada and Team USA, John Tavares featured for 16 minutes of ice-time.

He managed to register a single shot on net and a single hit. It’s not a big impact for what EA Sports believes is one of the top 15 players in the game.

But when you look at Tavares’ deployment and usage by Team Canada you get the sense that he was brought in to pop a few goals, and primarily be an all-situations type of player.

Of those 16 minutes of ice-time, Tavares saw time on the power-play (1:56) and time on the penalty-kill (0:24). Something that Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, or Claude Giroux can’t speak to. Neither being used on the PK.

Tavares finds himself in a litany of situations where coach Babcock expects excellence. Tavares delivers in all of those situations. If it wasn’t for poor finishing from Steven Stamkos or the outstanding play of one Johnathan Quick, Tavares would’ve had a few points up on the board.

Looking for a forum to discuss what you think John Tavares’ role should be on Team Canada? Maybe you got some pressing opinions on how important this game actually is even though it’s only pre-tournament.

Get in on the comments section below and join the discussion!