From last game, Steve Shutt isn’t in the lineup, and he is replaced by Reggie Leach of the Philadelphia Flyers. The lines appear to be the following.
Gainey - Sittler - McDonald
Martin - Perreault - Lafleur
Hull - Esposito - Dionne
Barber - Clarke - Leach
Mahovlich
Canada opens with a lineup of Vachon in net, Robinson and Orr on defense, and last game’s best line, Sittler, McDonald, and Gainey. Right off the bat, Gainey lays a big hit, but it’s the Czechs who get the only possession in the offensive zone after a slick play from Novy.
Canada’s next line is Martin back on the left, with Perreault and Lafleur on the right. Clearly Bowman wasn’t impressed with either of the previous lines, so he’s decided to mix them up a little. Lafleur makes a nice interception and he and Perreault combine for some pretty play, but they are unable to cross the blueline before Martin goes offside.
The Hull, Esposito, Dionne line stays intact, and Potvin goes out with Orr. Hull winds up around behind the net and takes off, but the play goes offside once again.
After the ensuing faceoff, Potvin loses the puck, and Pouzar dangles around Hull, drawing a penalty after Potvin trips him up. Clarke and Barber are the initial PK unit with Lapointe and Savard on the blueline. Almost right away, Barber gets the puck in Canada’s zone, and as he attempts to clear it, he is hooked by Martinec, drawing a penalty to Czechoslovakia. On the 4 on 4, Orr weaves through the Czechoslovkians and dishes it to Mahovlich, who gets off the first shot attempt and first scoring chance of the game, but is turned aside.
Lafleur shows good control on the next play, circling at the blueline before dishing a cross ice pass to Robinson. His shot finds Perreault’s stick in the slot, but Dzurilla is able to make a quick pad save.
Orr then corrals the puck at the blueline and lets a shot fly. It deflects off of two Czech players, forcing Dzurilla to make a sharp save. The Czechs go the other way, and Bubla fires one off of the outside of the post. Then Holik has a shot attempt blocked by Orr’s active stick. Hull once again grabs the puck behind the net, but this time he dishes to Dionne. Dionne tries to throw it across the middle, but it is intercepted, and the Czechs break in, but Peter Stastny goes offside.
Moments later Stastny gets the first shot on goal for the Czechs, but it is from outside any dangerous area. Barber is able to poke the puck up to Clarke, and he breaks in on a 2 on 1 with Leach, but is unable to get the puck across to him. The Czechs ice the puck, and off the faceoff Gainey lays two big hits in a row on Kajkl. Nothing happens for a while, but we do see an interesting unit of Mahovlich with Esposito and Dionne, and Potvin and Robinson on together.
Barber finally gets a shot on goal from just outside the circle, but once again, Dzurilla handles it cooly.
Right after Bubla finds Holik, and he gets a good shot off, forcing a nice kick save from Vachon.
The puck bounces to the blueline, and Bubla fires another one than Vachon is able to knock aside with his blocker. Perreault jumps out onto the ice and uses his speed to create a good chance for Potvin, but once again, Dzurilla is able to make the save and hangs on. The game is pretty tight checking, and neither team can find much open ice. Lafleur makes another good interception though, and he shuffles it back to the point. Savard finds Lapointe, and he gets a good chance, but it is blocked.
Perreault is able to break in, and finds Lafleur in the slot, who taps it back to Martin. Martin has an excellent chance, but Dzurilla kicks it out.
Perreault picks up the loose puck behind the goal and puts it into the slot for Lapointe, and he is turned aside by Dzurilla, who has now stopped 5 scoring chances. On the next shift, Orr puts one right down the middle on the Czech’s tape, and they get a shot off that is once again blocked. Gainey then drops one to McDonald, but it is in his skates, and he isn’t able to get a good shot off.
The Dionne, Hull, and Esposito line comes out, and Ebermann uses his speed behind the Czech goal, and forces Dionne into a tripping penalty. Once again, Barber, Clarke, Savard, and Lapointe are the first unit for the PK. They do an excellent job of clogging up the neutral zone, and the Czechoslovakians have a hard time getting into the Canadian’s zone. Clarke finds Barber up the middle and he is on the receiving end of a classic hip check from Chalupa.
Next, Orr, Potvin, Esposito, and Mahovlich hit the ice on the PK, and Marian Stastny gets a decent shot away, but it sails just wide. Potvin makes a great play on the boards and clears the zone, and Dionne steps out on the ice, bringing the power play to an end. Ironically, Dionne forechecks behind the Czechoslovakian goal, and is tripped up, drawing a penalty in the same fashion he took one.
For the powerplay, Lafleur replaces Dionne on the right wing with Hull and Esposito, and Dionne moves to the right point with Lapointe on the left. Lapointe and Dionne both have shots from the point blocked. Just as the announcer comments on the lack of scoring opportunities in this game, Esposito finds a seam down the middle and hits a streaking Bobby Hull on a breakaway. The puck bounces, and Hull can’t control it, but he still gets a shot off and Dzurilla must make another save.
Potvin, Orr, and the Flyers line goes out, but is unable to get into the zone on the powerplay for a while. When they do, Orr and Potvin make some great passes, and Potvin takes him time before letting a perfect shot go that is deflected just wide. Orr’s pass misses everybody, but bounces off the boards to Barber, who gets a shot off. However it hits Clarke and doesn’t get through onto Dzurilla. Clarke then sets up Barber, but his second attempt on goal is deflected wide by the Czech defenders.
Back at even strength, Marian Stastny almost gets a breakaway, but Lapointe makes an excellent defensive play and pokes it away from him without tripping him. Off the next faceoff, Perreault flies down the ice, but runs into two defenders. It bounces to Martin though, and his centering pass to Lafleur is deflected just out of reach.
The Sittler line takes the ice and Machac makes a stretch pass to Pouzar. Orr makes a great defensive play and breaks up another potential breakaway for the Czechoslovakians. The Flyers line takes to the ice, but they are unable to create anything before the period comes to a scoreless end.
The second period starts with Bobby Orr blocking a shot on his shoulder. He heads off the ice in obvious pain, and is replaced by Lapointe. The first exciting play happens on the fourth shift of the period when Reggie Leach takes the puck for a spin.
Unfortunately he is checked before he can get a good shot away. Their line does continue to create pressure though, and Clarke is able to find Barber in the slot. He gets a weak shot off, but it almost fools Dzurilla through a screen provided by Leach. After the play we see a replay of Barber, and an obvious dive he’s made. The commentator’s explain he’s noted for his diving.
The Sittler line hits the ice, and combine for a great chance. Sittler makes a quick pass to McDonald, who ducks a high check, slips past the defender, and centers it to Gainey. Dzurilla comes out and intercepts the pass, leaving Gainey without the goal.
The slippery Holik then rushes up ice, but with no support he shoots one that gets deflected high and wide. The Czechs will get their first chance of the game next though. Novy gets the puck up the middle, and fakes a shot, then steps just into the slot and fires a low shot wide of the goal. The Czechs apparently get some momentum from this chance, as later on in the shift, a centering pass bounces into the slot and is blocked by Lapointe, the second chance of the game for the Czechoslovakians. The shift of furious pace continues as Martin and Lafleur combine to get Martin a good shot in the slot that Dzurilla is able to turn aside.
The next shift produces a lot quickly for Canada. Mahovlich wins it to McDonald and Orr fires a shot that is deflected by Gainey. It rings off the bar, but for a second Gainey raises his hands, the closest Canada has come to a goal yet. Immediately after, Robinson fires one from the opposite point that Dzurilla kicks out.
The puck is cleared, but Orr brings it right back in, and centers it to Gainey, who is stopped by Dzurilla in the slot. Orr, McDonald, and Robinson let a couple fly from the point, but none are able to challenge the Czechoslovakian goalie Dzurilla. Lapointe steps in off the draw on the next shift and sends one just wide of the right post. The puck comes to Potvin who fires one on goal. It is blocked, but the rebound pops to Leach who is robbed by Dzurilla.
Esposito then gets an even better chance after Lapointe flutters a pass to him in the slot, where he is wide open.
As usual, Dzurilla denies Canada of the goal. The chances don’t stop there though, as seconds later, Leach finds himself on the doorstep, all alone, but is stopped by Dzurilla. At this point, Canada has had the last 15 shooting attempts in a row.
The next shift Sittler makes a nice centering pass that is just blocked and deflected away from McDonald. Peter Stastny, Novy, and Holik finally break the Canadian’s shot attempt streak as they break in and have a shot from Holik blocked. Vachon is tested soon though, as Stastny finds Holik in the slot, and his slap shot is gloved by Rogatien.
Once again, the chance gives Czechoslovakia momentum, and two shifts later, Jiri Novak has a breakaway chance that hits the post.
They nearly get a tap in later on, but Potvin positions himself well and breaks up the passing play. It isn’t very relevant to the play, but Orr shows off his skills with a nice little spin move.
Canada finally gets a handle on Czechoslovakia and stops their momentum, the Esposito line generating two shots. Esposito is upset that Bubla held his stick and didn’t allow him to get his shot away quick enough. Sittler makes a nice pass to Hull, who blasts a good shot, once again stopped by Dzurilla. The rebound skips over Dionne’s stick.
McDonald also gets a chance in the slot that he backhands high and wide. Novak takes a high stick, but there is no penalty, and he gets attention in the dressing room. Nothing else happens in the period, and the game remains scoreless through forty minutes.
The third period stars with Czechoslovakia's Hlinka firing a shot on goal from just inside the blueline. Dionne takes a hit to make a play, and Esposito’s centering pass just misses Hull. Canada almost ices it, but it hits a broken stick, and they are able to keep it in and generate a shot attempt. The Czechoslovakians attempt another stretch pass, apparently their patent play, but it is once again unsuccessful. Perreault almost gets a chance on a pass from Lafleur, but it doesn’t work. Going the other way, Lapointe stumbles, and Martinec gets a breakaway, but is stopped by Vachon.
Lapointe goes down the other way, and almost sets up Martin, but he is checked at the last second. Right off the next faceoff, Sittler wins it to McDonald, who blasts it, but is robbed by Dzurilla.
Holik impresses with his ability to calmly weave through the Canadian defenders like they are pylons. He’s easily the most slick puck handler on the Czechoslovakian team.
Clarke loses a defensive zone draw and the CSSR combine on a nice passing play that leads to a hot shot from the point that Vachon ensnares with his glove. Another shot from the blueline by Novy later on bounces in front to Martinec, and he deflects it out of the air, but it skids harmlessly across the goalmouth.
Potvin finds Hull, who almost finds a seam, but loses control before he can get into the open space. The Czechoslovakians however dominate shot attempts for a while, but Sittler finally finds some space on the right wing, and lets one rip from the top of the circle, giving Dzurilla a little bit of trouble. That concludes the first 10 minutes, and the teams switch sides.
Bowman starts with an interesting combo, putting Lapointe and Savard on defense, Lafleur on the left wing, and 5th defender Larry Robinson on the left wing, with 13th forward Pete Mahovlich down the middle. Robinson is able to find Lafleur, who make a nifty drop pass to Mahovlich, who wires one on net that Dzurilla deflects aside.
In response, the shifty Ebermann heads down the ice, shuffling away from Potvin and Orr, and gets a great opportunity on Vachon, who fights away the puck, giving a big rebound.
The shifty Ebermann is swiftly at it again, Hlinka giving him a bank pass that leads to a breakaway. Vachon stays cool and pokes it away.
On the play, Ebermann draws a slashing penalty, the first man advantage since the first period. Barber, Clarke, Orr, and Lapointe are the PK unit, Potvin with his 2nd penalty of the game. Clarke and Barber are replaced up front by Sittler and Savard. Kajkl gets a good shot off but Vachon is equal to the task and steers it wide.
After the penalty, Potvin and Robinson pair together, Orr clearly tired from killing an entire penalty. The Perreault line is about to see the ice for the first time in quite a while, but they are pulled off in favour of the Sittler line. It turns out to be a mistake, as, within 30 seconds, the Czechoslovakians finally draw first blood, with under 5 minutes to go in the game. Martinec drops it to Augusta, who drops it to Novy, who slides his 4th goal of the tournament under a sprawling Vachon.
Now Canada sends out the Perreault line, and Mahovlich’s centering pass is just missed by Perreault. They mount more pressure, garnering three shot attempts in a row before the Clarke line takes over. They press well, getting two shot attempts, but like the other line, they can’t break through into a scoring chance area.
With a minute to go, the Esposito line hits the ice, Canada’s leading scoring line in the tournament. Dionne flips a harmless puck to the net, and Esposito pounces on the rebound, but once again, Dzurilla is right there, covering the angle perfectly. Lafleur replaces Dionne, but the Stastny brothers put on excellent pressure, and waste a good 15 seconds off the clock. Orr gets a decent chance, but blasts it wide of the net. Vachon is pulled, and Bobby Clarke steps onto the ice. Potvin and Lafleur both have their shots blocked, and just like that, the game ends. 1-0 Czechoslovakia is the final score.
All in all, shot attempts were 68 to 45 for Canada, 60 to 40 at even strength. Scoring chances were 22 to 8, showing the dominance of Dzurilla (18 to 8 at even strength). Canada was definitely the better team, especially in the first two periods, but the third period, the one that ended up mattering most, is where Canada didn’t show enough until it was too late. Then again, even if they had done more, could they have solved Dzurilla?
The McDonald, Sittler, Gainey line definitely was not as impactful in this game, but was still pretty decent, generating quite a few decent scoring chances. Esposito’s line dominated the Czechoslovakians when they were out there, but they weren’t able to really penetrate into high danger areas. They generated shot attempts, but not many chances, they were more effective in the sense that they kept the Czechoslovakians from getting any chances at all. Playing alongside Perreault and Martin really seemed to help Lafleur, and his game was much better. That line was good all night, although they did give up a bit to the Czechs. The Clarke line showed obvious chemistry, and had some of Canada’s best chances, but they also have up a lot of shot attempts to the Czechs, and were on for the most of the Czechoslovakian scoring chances. Bobby Orr was great on defense for Canada again. Even though his skating isn’t top notch, he’s so good positionally, and makes really great passes. Robinson and Potvin both did well with him as well, Potvin once again playing physical. Savard struggled a bit this game, he seemed to be on for a lot of the Czechoslovakian chances and shot attempts, and was often victimized by the shifty stickhandling of players like Stastny, Ebermann, and Holik. Vachon was nearly perfect in net, and cannot be blamed for the goal.
All the data collected can be found here.
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