ANGELHOLM, SWEDEN – Team Canada head coach Brent Sutter blasted his players following an uninspired 3-0 loss to Sweden in an exhibition game Sunday night. Aritz Aduriz Spain Jersey . "Theyre a team that plays hard, they skate, they play with emotion and skill and we had guys who didnt tonight and it just shows that skills overrated unless you have a work ethic and a compete level that you have to have out there. We lost a lot of one-on-one battles. Outside of one guy, we lost a lot of face-offs ... We didnt have the puck, especially in the first period. We were just very passive and on our heels and basically we let them dictate the game and they did and we never seemed to get any momentum or control of it back," said Sutter. "I think its a good lesson for us." Bob McKenzie takes a closer look at why Canada struggled against Sweden. It was an assessment shared by his players. "Theyre a big challenge, obviously, they showed it tonight," said defenceman Derrick Pouliot, "luckily for us its still exhibition [season] so we got some time to improve and well see them down the road for sure." Canada will need to play a lot better if theyre going to beat the Swedes in the tournament, which starts on Boxing Day. The host nation is returning half of their players from last years silver-medal squad and Carolinas Elias Lindholm and Nashvilles Filip Forsberg, who were not in the lineup Sunday, will be on the ice by the time the round robin begins. Canada and Sweden are in different pools in the opening round and can only meet in the playoffs. "We didnt work, starting from myself," said left winger Jonathan Drouin, who sat out the first pre-tournament game on Friday. "I think the key guys have to produce offence and we didnt. We have to work harder against a skilled team like that." "Its not a lot of things that really went wrong," said defenceman Aaron Ekblad. "We just have to work harder as a team. That team outworked us and thats about all you can say about it." DROUIN RUSTY IN RETURN Drouin will be a key factor in whether Canada ends a four-year gold drought. Sunday marked the 18-year-olds first game since sustaining a concussion on Dec. 6 while playing with the Halifax Mooseheads in the QMJHL. Head injuries can be tough to come back from at first and rust was evident. "I thought he was average at best," Sutter stated bluntly. "He didnt play very good at all, but its his first game. It was a feel-out process for him tonight. I guess Im not surprised the way it was. He hasnt played in a while and obviously were playing a top, top team." "Obviously, a little slow start," Drouin acknowledged. "Its been three weeks so first game is going to be a little harder. It was getting better and better as the game went on." Canada wraps-up its pre-tournament schedule with a game against Switzerland on Monday. Drouin believes that one more game should be enough for him to be ready for the tournament opener on Thursday against Germany. "Im sure Ill be fine, like I said, it just took some time and as the game went on I felt better and better," said Drouin, who was picked third overall in last Junes NHL draft by Tampa Bay. "Theres one more game and Im sure Ill be better." DUMBA EJECTED; SUSPENSION LOOMING? A lack of discipline also haunted Canada on Sunday as defenceman Mathew Dumba, named an alternate captain by Sutter on Thursday, was ejected in the second period for kneeing Erik Karlsson. The Swedes scored with one second left in the major penalty. Two of Swedens three goals came on the man advantage. Its possible that Dumba, loaned to Hockey Canada by the Minnesota Wild for the world juniors, may face a suspension for the hit. Canadian defenceman Griffin Reinhart will already miss the first three games of the tournament as he serves out a suspension picked up at last years event. And Sutter made it perfectly clear that going into the championships first game with fewer than six blueliners is not acceptable. "No, its not OK to go into the tournament with five D," he said. "I think youre grasping right now, reaching, thinking its a possible suspension. I couldnt even answer that. He got ejected from the game, but whether theres a suspension label to it? I couldnt tell you." Dumba was cut by Team Canada the last two years and has spoken about how much it means to him to be on the squad this time around. Bob McKenzie breaks down the Dumba situation and how a suspension would put Sutter in a tricky situation LONE BRIGHT SPOT The one player that escaped Sutters wrath was Jake Paterson. The Saginaw goalie kept the game scoreless in the first period as Canada was outshot 16-5. Jamie McLennan takes a closer look at Patersons performance "He played great," said Sutter. "He played outstanding. From the first shot that was taken on him, he was really, really solid for us. He kept it close for us, especially in the first period, but we never responded in the way we wanted to and you have to score goals to win games. We just never generated enough offensively. He gave us chance and I thought he played extremely well." Paterson is competing with Zach Fucale for the starting job. Fucale stopped 31 of 33 shots in Fridays 4-2 win against Finland. "Obviously Im looking, hopefully, to be the starter, but I have no idea what the coaches are thinking right now so I just got to be ready if they call upon me," said Paterson, who stopped 31 of 34 shots against Sweden. Sutter hasnt announced who will start on Monday against the Swiss. David Silva Spain Jersey .com) - The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies have finalized their agreed-upon trade that sends former National League MVP Jimmy Rollins to the West Coast for a pair of minor league pitching prospects. Sergio Busquets Spain Jersey . - Erick Torres scored his 10th goal of the season on a stunning volley, and Chivas USA edged 10-man Real Salt Lake 1-0 on Saturday night. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The free-fall is over for the Tampa Bay Rays. Erik Bedard struck out eight in six innings and the Rays stopped a 10-game losing streak by beating the Seattle Mariners 4-0 Friday night. The skid tied Boston for the longest in the majors this season. The Red Sox dropped 10 straight from May 15-25, with Tampa Bay handing them the last three losses in the streak. This was the Rays first victory since then. "The music is back on in the clubhouse after the game," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. "Its good to hear the music. Its a good first game to start hopefully getting us back in the right direction." Bedard (3-4) scattered four hits and walked one in ending a three-start losing streak. Jake McGee, Joel Peralta and Grant Balfour, who gave up a ninth-inning single, all went one inning to complete a five-hitter. "Its way more fun winning," Bedard said. "We celebrated, and hopefully we do that tomorrow, too." After Jose Molina got his first RBI this season on a fourth-inning sacrifice fly, Tampa Bay went ahead 3-0 in the fifth on an RBI bunt single by Desmond Jennings and Yunel Escobars run-scoring single off Chris Young (5-3). Young gave up three runs, seven hits and five walks over five innings for the Mariners, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. "This is one of those days we didnt play very well on either side of the baseball and those things happen," manager Lloyd McClendon said. The Rays loaded the bases with two outs in the second, but failed score when Molina popped out to shortstop Brad Miller. Dating to last season, it was Molinas 100th coonsecutive at-bat, including 87 this year, without an RBI. Diego Costa Spain Jersey. Kevin Kiermaier doubled and went to third on a wild pitch in the fourth before Molina ended a stretch of 19 scoreless innings by Seattle pitchers with his sac fly. "I play for the team," Molina said. "I dont play for myself. To help the team to get that run in, and get the win, Im happy with it." Bedard worked out of a second-and-third, no-out jam in the third by striking out Miller, James Jones and Michael Saunders. Saunders left after three innings due to a sore right shoulder. "He hurt it on deck swinging," McClendon said. "Hopefully hell be OK in a day or two." NOTES: The Rays on Saturday will honour the life of senior adviser Don Zimmer, who died Wednesday night at 83. "I got up (on Thursdays off day) and getting ready to go to the track, and I realized Zim was not picking me up," said McClendon, who played on the 1989 Chicago Cubs NL East championship team managed by Zimmer. "Zim and I have been going to the track for the last eight, nine years. Ill miss that. Zim was an institution. He was certainly a mentor to me." ... The Mariners will salute Yankees SS Derek Jeter in a pregame ceremony before Tuesday nights game. Jeter is retiring after this season. ... Tampa Bay RHP Jeremy Hellickson (elbow) and C Ryan Hanigan (hamstring) are scheduled to start minor league rehab assignments Saturday with Class-A Charlotte. Hellickson hopes to be back before the All-Star break, and Hanigan could return next week. ... Seattle LHP James Paxton (left shoulder inflammation) could resume playing catch Monday. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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