'Tight and tentative' start plays directly into Canada's hand

Mike Babcock had reason to gripe.

Displeased with Canada's start in a 6-0 thrashing of the Czech Republic in the tournament opener, a point of emphasis entering Tuesday's contest versus the United States was shoring up those first five minutes.

So when Carey Price conceded for the first time in almost four consecutive hours of best-on-best competition a little under five minutes into the game, it wasn't a surprise to hear Canada's detail-oriented head coach harp on those first few shifts once again.

“I just thought we were tentative early," Babcock said in his post-game press conference. "Tight and tentative, and (we) didn't execute very good.”

Except Tuesday, in a game where the Canadians proved they were clearly the superior side and eliminated the U.S. from the World Cup of Hockey with a 4-2 win, a disjointed start, and the subsequent glimmer of hope it offered the opponent, seemed to play right into their hand.

Ninety seconds after Ryan McDonagh bulldozed his way to the front of the net and banged in the Americans' first goal of the tournament, Matt Duchene and Corey Perry scored goals 14 seconds apart for Canada.

The lead, up in smoke. The Americans, experiencing a full-on adrenaline dump.

Of course, Canada used an equal and opposite boost to surge forward, and though reluctant to admit it, perhaps felt the opponent's will diminish.

"I thought our response was great, and that’s obviously what you want to see," Patrice Bergeron told theScore. "The way we got back into the game and took the lead right away after two shifts was tremendous. It definitely gave us the energy and momentum that we needed."

But did he feel as though the Americans were demoralized?

"Yeah, I mean," stopping himself. "They compete. They kept competing."

Bergeron's right.

The Americans didn't just fold - they were the better team in the final frame, scoring once, hitting three posts, and despite that misfortune, Patrick Kane had a glorious opportunity to pull the Americans to within one in the final moments.

However, it was a classic case of too-little, too-late for John Tortorella's crew, as it appeared to take them until midway through the third period, and when the game was well out of reach, to recover from those fateful 14 seconds in the first.

From the moment Perry's goal was confirmed by the war room, and the partisan crowd could cheer it for a second time, Canada never once appeared vulnerable.

"Momentum constantly shifts," Ryan O'Reilly told theScore. "(But) once we can get it, we kind of roll with that, and it's tough to get (us) back off it."

Without experiencing that same feeling at the World Cup, the U.S. will disband after one last meaningless game versus the Czech Republic Thursday, and its members will head to separate NHL training camps.

All while Babcock and Team Canada continue working to shore up those first five minutes.