The Olympics have ended and NHL has resumed play. But it’s worth decompressing and reviewing what happened. Here are some quick thoughts about the Olympic results.

The final results saw Canada taking Gold, Sweden Silver, and Finland defeated Team USA for Bronze. Teemu Selanne was a monster throughout the tournament, and Finland clearly wanted to win. Team USA had a fast, offensive team, but had trouble beating defensive schemes and elite goaltenders. The top teams kept the US’s shots to the outside, where the best goaltenders can see shots and control rebounds. Team USA was shut out in their last two games. These are notes to consider in four years when USA Hockey is looking to compete against the best teams in the world in South Korea.

Canada seemed destined for Gold and received their second consecutive Olympic tournament win. Sweden played consistently throughout the tournament and, had a few injuries not happened, could have contended for Gold. The tournament was exciting throughout all the seeds and did not disappoint in bringing consistent action.

Of note for Bruins fans; three of the five players who went to Sochi received medals. Also, all three medals had a Bruin as part of the team. Loui Eriksson stepped up big for Sweden and his efforts may be of benefit to the Bruins if he can carry some of that spark back to the NHL. Tuukka Rask has gained more tournament experience and proved he could play consistently, when he wasn’t sick. This bodes well for an NHL Playoff push. Zdeno Chara and David Krejci both got some rest after their early tournament exists. Hopefully they can bring fresh legs and positive memories to hit the ground running. Finally Patrice Bergeron proves that he is an elite two way forward, playing multiple roles on Team Canada and contributing offensively. From a coaching perspective – you could see Claude Julien’s defensive mark all over Team Canada. Winning Gold will help players buy into his system even more.

Final Results