North America's mindset ahead of opener: 'We just want to attack'
There were signs all over the ice.
Colton Parayko almost fully reclined, winding up on his back foot as he took one-timers; Auston Matthews slapping his stick on the ice, forcing himself to start over as he failed to manipulate the puck how he wanted in a stick-handling drill; Connor McDavid having a hard pass slip under his blade, seeing it slide away harmlessly into the corner.
But those instances illustrating general malaise didn't appear to bother Todd MacLellan. His team didn't require one more taxing high-intensity practice to prove it to themselves. Soaking their equipment one last time at the end of a long training camp Saturday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum was more inescapable than essential.
They've long been ready to take on the world.
"We just want to attack," defenseman Ryan Murray told theScore. "We want to go after it."
The international hockey experiment that began Saturday with a group of European players from lesser hockey nations upsetting the United States continues Sunday when Team North America meets Finland in a prime-time matchup at the World Cup of Hockey.
And for the 23 insanely talented players who comprise perhaps the most intriguing roster ever assembled, they cannot wait to bust out of the routine, and with their performance, finally have an answer to the questions they've been bombarded with since being named to the roster.
"We're excited to get things going," forward Nathan MacKinnon said. "It's been a long training camp. We've been talking systems and practicing for awhile now.
"It's time to get going."
What's expected
Perception surrounding North America has shifted since outscoring Team Europe 11-4 in two exhibition games, and then dominating a third against the Czech Republic despite coming up short on the scoreboard.
Matt Murray answered perhaps the greatest criticism of this team in last season's championship run with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but allowed one goal in 100 pre-tournament minutes for good measure. And susceptibilities on the back end have been answered, or, at least, compensated for by the terror the forwards have been for opposing defenses.
Belief is mounting outside the North America room - certainly in the minds of oddsmakers - and raising itself to the level the team's maintained through the entire process.
"I don't think anybody came here expecting to play second fiddle," MacLellan told theScore. "(It's) a confident group. They want to push things and challenge for the championship. I never felt like this group was accepting of being inferior to the rest of the teams.
"Now it's up to us to prove that, of course, but I don't sense (a heightened sense of belief) in the locker room."
What's key
In a short tournament, it goes without saying that it's imperative to generate momentum right from the beginning of the competition because there's no time to work out inefficiencies in live action.
But in order for that to happen, North America's of the mind that the same concept needs to be applied on a smaller scale each night, beginning Sunday versus the Finns.
"When we start fast, when we get that first goal, we can really (create) a lot of momentum," Murray said. "It's definitely what we want to accomplish."
As such, entering its opening clash stiff, and trying to avoid mistakes rather than creating opportunities, could prove to be a death sentence in a virtual must-win game.
So to achieve a fast start, North America will rely on the high-end, inventive talent that's brought them all together.
"We're definitely embracing our (creativity). Todd's stressed systems, but they're not restrictions; they're guidelines. If we're going to win, we're going to have to be creative and use our skill, and speed," MacKinnon said.
"That's why we were picked. I don't think we can lose that; that's why we have gotten this far."