Mario, Team Canada on right track
By JIM KERNAGHAN -- London Free Press
For Vincent Lecavalier, it was a bit like snatching the mike from Pavarotti and warbling an aria.
Here he was, a young Team Canada forward, zooming in on the Team USA goaltender with one man back and hockey legend Mario Lemieux looming in with him.
You pass to the maestro, of course. But no, the talented Tampa Bay Lightning star paused, looked like he might set up his idol, then . . . shot the puck in himself.
"I thought all the way in I'd pass it because he's, well, Mario," Lecavalier said after Team Canada reversed its World Cup exhibition loss to the Americans Monday with a like 3-1 victory last night before a sellout crowd of 18,500 at the Corel Centre. "But (defenceman Eric) Weinrich went toward him and I knew I had to shoot. I think the goalie thought I'd pass it, too. Mario laughed about it afterward."
The elder statesman of Team Canada, the 38-year-old Lemieux is held in enormous esteem by his elite teammates. More important, he's feeling pretty good about himself after his first game in nine months after a hip ailment that required surgery.
"The first period was a bit tough getting used to the speed again, but it got better," he said. "There were times our line was off a bit, but it'll come."
Lemieux, who looked sluggish in a team scrimmage Tuesday, threw a hit early designed, he said, to get himself into the game rather than make a statement against Team USA.
The World Cup doesn't start for these teams until Tuesday, when they meet in the opener in Montreal.
Calgary captain Jarome Iginla said the object last night was to turn on the jets a bit in skating terms and play more physical.
"Those were the main two things. We wanted more intensity and we got it, I feel. We're coming together."
There will be more tinkering with the lines, to be sure, but one seems to be melding quickly.
It's safe to say team captain Lemieux, Lecavalier and energetic Martin St. Louis will comprise one troika as they meshed well during a more orderly and controlled approach than they did in Monday's game.
Team Canada jumped to a 2-0 lead early in the second period and popped another one just before the intermission in a reversal of the loss to the Americans in Columbus.
Displaying a tidy work ethic in their own zone, the Canadians pounced on Team USA penalties for two of them. Lecavalier, who got to use Lemieux as a decoy on a two-on-one break, scored after Detroit defenceman Chris Chelios was caught up ice. Lecavalier froze Weinrich with a hint of a pass to Lemieux before blasting it low past Robert Esche with a man advantage.
In a mirror image of the same play, Joe Sakic caught Weinrich in the same position as he came in from the other wing, snapping a quick shot with Patrick Marleau as the decoy.
Team Canada's third goal of the period came from Brad Richards on a Lemieux pass during a manpower advantage in the final minute of the middle period. Team USA finally got on the board early in the third period when Chris Drury converted a pass from Keith Tkachuk.
There remains room for improvement in the aggregation of stars that comprise Team Canada, but last night's win was a fair barometer of the potential. It not only was the win Team Canada needed, it was fashioned in the manner they sought.
Roberto Luongo started in goal for Canada and was replaced by Jose Theodore halfway through the game as head coach Pat Quinn seeks to determine who will back up Richard Brodeur when the tournament starts.
Esche started for Team USA and was replaced by Ty Conklin for the second half of the contest.
