Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Mike Babcock: Canada trying to ‘find a way to be the best team’

Sidney Crosby

Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby, left, and head coach Mike Babcock, right, watch a drill during a practice session at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2014. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

AP

Mike Babcock isn’t too worried about a lack of production from Canada’s supposed top line, which includes Sidney Crosby, held without a goal through three preliminary games in Sochi.

Canada will play Latvia in the quarter-final on Wednesday. It’s Latvia’s first ever trip to this stage in the Olympic tournament, while the Canadian team has fallen under criticism for its play through the first three games, despite a trio of wins and outscoring the opposition a combined 11-2. Canada’s forwards have scored only five of those.

It’s helped that the defending gold medal champs have gotten positive contributions from the back end, specifically Drew Doughty and Shea Weber.

“The first line has generated a ton of scoring chances, point-blankers,” Babcock said, as per the Associated Press.

“They haven’t gone in. Do we worry that much about that, or do we just know good players score in the end? Lots of times in the Stanley Cup playoffs, your team goes a ways and your best players have no points in the first round. Someone else picks them up.

“But by the time it’s all over, they’re leading the thing in scoring. It’s not about that. It’s about finding a way to be the best team.”

At Monday’s practice, Crosby was reunited with Chris Kunitz, also his linemate with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The two began the tournament on the same line.

Follow @CamTucker_Metro