You almost had to feel bad for the Germans, as the winlees team drew the Canadians in their play-in game. Canada was coming off of a tough loss to the US in the preliminary round, and came out blazing, peppering Thomas Greiss with 14 shots in the first period.
The Germans employed a very defensive style of play, attempting to contain the high-powered Canadian offense with a stifling neutral zone trap. For the first period, it appeared to work, as the Germans finished the first frame down by just one goal, scored by big Joe Thornton just after the 10 minute mark. It was right around that time that the Germans recorded their first shot of the period, finishing the 1st with just 4 tests for Canadian netminder Roberto Luongo.
In the 2nd period, however, the Canadians literally blew the game wide open. Shea Weber ripped a blast from the point that tore right through the back of the net, and the rout was on, as Jarome Iginla scored back to back goals to give Canada a 4-0 lead less than 9 minutes into the period. Marcel Goc got the Germans on the board with a late period goal, but the result of the game was never really in question.
The Canadians continued to roll offensively in the 3rd, getting goals from Sidney Crosby, Mike Richards, Scott Niedermayer and Rick Nash to stretch the lead to 8-1. Manuel Klinge managed to redirect a rebound past Luongo with just over a minute remaining in the game, but that was all the offense they’d get on the night.
Canada outshot Germany 39-23 on the night, and despite giving up 8 goals, Greiss still made a number of good saves throughout the match. Canada’s win sets up a huge quarterfinals matchup with Alexander Ovechkin and the powerhouse Russians. Everyone assumed these two would meet, but the predictions had them meeting in the gold medal game, not the quarterfinals, where the winner will have to win yet again to make the gold medal game, and the loser will go home with nothing more than their equipment.