What a terrific, terrific game

We won’t see very many better hockey games than we saw today.

It had everything. An up-and-down pace all game. Incredible skill on display. Very few lapses by either team. Intensity at the highest level.

And oh yeah, the gold medal was at stake.

Look, I’d much rather see the Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup than I would see Team USA win a gold medal. I was in stunned silence for about a half an hour after Canada won in overtime and then got on with my life. If the Capitals were to lose a Game 7 in a couple of months just like Team USA lost against Canada, then you’d see me on the ledge of a College Park bridge.

But nevertheless, playing for a gold medal is pretty huge. The players on the ice for either team may not play a bigger game in their lives, and for many, that may have been their last shot at a gold medal.

As for the game, I just can’t get over how well the game was played. The game was played exactly how hockey should be played, especially at such a high level – a unique combination of talent, skill, determination, and emotion. Everything came together and what we saw was a beautiful display in which players moved up and down the ice at a feverish pitch.

The skill of both teams, with every player being in the NHL, was very evident. Canadians like Rick Nash and Ryan Getzlaf showed what a bull they can be on the ice, and Americans like Patrick Kane and Zach Parise displayed their offensive abilities, and Brian Rafalski showed how he can control a game. Lesser known Americans like David Backes, Ryan Kesler and Dustin Brown — and I thought those three were big for the Americans for the entire tournament – let hockey fans exactly who they are.

Each team’s world-class goaltending was on display, as tournament MVP Ryan Miller (they give out MVP’s at the Olympics?) made some incredible stops. Even though Roberto Luongo was a bit shaky, he still held the Americans to two goals.

And the moments in the game — I bet no American who watched that game will soon forget Parise, who was bottled up for much of the game by Canada’s size, scoring the tying goal in the dwindling seconds of regulation and basically jumping through the roof during his celebration.

Sure, I would have loved to have seen the Americans win the gold today. But I also realize what an incredible game was played — it’s a game that will be remembered for quite some time.

I just really, really wish it wasn’t Sidney Crosby that won it for Canada.