Just How "Miraculous" Was the Win Over Canada?

Just shortly after Team USA upset Cananda 5-3 on Sunday many people were comparing this win to the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980 when we upset the heavily favored Russians in Lake Placid.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here even though it is really easy to. Although it was a great win for U.S hockey, the gap between ourselves and Canada is nowhere near the gap that there was between us and the Russians in 1980.

Team Canada hasn't looked spectacular during this year's Olympics. It took a shootout to get past Switzerland while Team USA defeated the Swiss in regulation, 3-1.

You also have to really study the "Miracle on Ice" to understand how big of an upset that actually was.

The Russians were ahead by one goal three separate times during the game before Team USA notched back-to-back goals to take the lead. There was also still ten minutes left in the game for the Russians to tally the tying goal and go for the win.

Sunday's game was predominantly led by Team USA on the scoreboard as they scored 40 seconds into the game. They also led 4-2 before Sidney Crosby added a power play goal with less than four minutes remaining.

What really made this such a great game was the stellar net-minding by Ryan Miller. He made 42 saves including three simultaneous saves in the third period to keep Team USA ahead.

We also can't get too big-headed here. There's still a ton of work to do. When you really look at it Team USA got bailed out by Ryan Miller. They were outshot 45-22 which will probably lead to a loss in the medal rounds.

The next game will be against either Switzerland or Belarus. I expect a rematch against the Swiss to be the next game for Team USA. It's always harder beating a team a second time in a row.

One good thing about Team USA's spot in this tournament is that both Russia and Canada are on the lower part of the bracket meaning that one of them will be taken out by the other before they can reach Team USA in the tournament.

Either way, Team USA will most likely have to beat one of them if they want a silver or gold medal.

In the end the gap just wasn't as large as people originally thought between Canada and the USA in hockey. The Canadiens are better, but they're not on the same level as the 1980 Soviet team that everyone feared at the time.

The Chances for Success for the Men's Hockey Team in Vancouver

The opening of the men's hockey is just minutes away with Team USA getting ready to take on Switzerland.

Many of the analysts, including ESPN's Barry Melrose, are calling this a good warm-up game for Team USA.

I guess we'll see about that.

The key to success for the U.S. is goalie Ryan Miller. Miller has a 93 percent save percentage which is good for 2nd in the NHL. If he can relay that success to the Olympics then the U.S. has a legitimate shot at a medal.

Another thing that plays in the favor of the U.S. is that they will be playing on an NHL-size rink, which is narrower than the European rinks. It means the play will be much more physical, but it should favor the North American teams more so than the European teams.

However, outside of a few players, the U.S. lacks star power on their team. All of stars that we have come to know in the NHL play for other countries. The best scoring threat we have is Patrick Kane of the Blackhawks. He has 28 goals this season and a plus/minus ratio of plus-18.

For all you casual hockey fans, that means when he's on the ice his team is outscoring the opposition by 18 goals. Pretty good odds if you ask me.

The biggest threat that Switzerland will throw at us will be goalie Jonas Hiller. He has a ton of talent and we'll see if that results in success for Switzerland.

The Predators have several players competing in the Olympics, but only one for the U.S. That player is Ryan Suter, who will be out there more for his defense than scoring goals.

By far the favorite to win the Olympics is Canada, who has some guy named Sidney Crosby suiting up for them. Hopefully you caught the sarcasm on that. But they have a ton of pressure on them playing in front of their home country.

Don't leave Russia out of the equation. They've got Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Ilya Kovalchuk. Expect a lot goals to be scored by this team.

The U.S. was unfortunate enough to be in the same group as Canada, along with Switzerland and Norway. A second-place finish in this group wouldn't be a disappointment at all.

Most likely a bronze medal is the most the U.S. can hope for, but we Americans love our underdog stories. Anything can happen in sports and that's why we watch and cheer for our teams.

USA! USA! USA!

Preds in the Olympics

1. Martin Erat (Czech Republic)
2. Ryan Suter (USA)
3. Shea Weber (Canada)
4. Patric Hornqvist (Sweden)
5. Marcel Goc (Germany)
6. Alexander Sulzer (Germany)