Canadians Glad Nieuwendyk Is No Ordinary Joe in 3-2 Win

Joe Nieuwendyk praised his Canadian Olympic teammates for their patience Saturday against a skillful and smart Swedish team. And if there’s anyone who should know about patience, it’s Nieuwendyk.

Since enjoying back-to-back 51-goal seasons with the Calgary Flames early in his NHL career, the 31-year-old center has endured a series of injuries and misfortunes that cut his production dramatically. Only recently has he recovered the mobility to complement his superb playmaking skills, and Canadian Coach Marc Crawford is grateful for Nieuwendyk’s perseverance.

“Last year he had a serious concussion at the start of the season and that made his start slow and he had to find his way into the Dallas Stars’ lineup,” Crawford said. “I think it’s just a case where he’s always been a great player and now he’s getting more comfortable with his stature. He has picked up a step.”

Nieuwendyk played a key role as Canada rallied for a 3-2 victory over Sweden in round-robin play Saturday at Big Hat arena, scoring the first goal and assisting on goals by Al MacInnis and King defenseman Rob Blake within a seven-minute, 57-second span in the second period.

In improving to 2-0, Canada took the lead in its four-team group and needs a victory or a tie against the United States on Monday to earn the top seeding and the best matchup in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

The Canadians might not be so comfortable if Nieuwendyk hadn’t settled in so comfortably with linemates Rob Zamuner of Tampa Bay and Theoren Fleury of Calgary. His familiarity with Fleury from their days with the Flames is obvious; so is his connection with MacInnis, another former Flame.

He set MacInnis up for a goal in Canada’s opener and duplicated that Saturday by winning a faceoff and sliding the puck back to MacInnis, who faked two defenders and goalie Tommy Salo out of position before slapping the puck into the net to break a 1-1 tie.

“I certainly feel strong and I feel pretty good,” Nieuwendyk said. “The last couple of years have been tough. I feel like I’m getting it all back.

“[The second-period rally] was a thrill. We showed good patience. They got an early lead but we waited and capitalized on opportunities when we had to.”

Sweden capitalized on a first-period power play at 15:27, when Mikael Renberg found Nicklas Lidstrom in the high slot and wristed a shot past Patrick Roy, who was screened by Ray Bourque. But Canada never flagged, exerting pressure that forced the Swedes to take penalties in the second period.

“We started well the first 10 minutes, but then we had two penalty kills in the first few minutes [including a five-on-three disadvantage] and the penalty kills took us to our knees,” Coach Kent Forsberg said. “They got stronger and we got weaker.”

They pulled even when Nieuwendyk deflected a shot by Blake past Salo’s left leg at 11:56. With Mats Lindgren serving a cross-checking penalty, MacInnis scored on Nieuwendyk’s perfect setup at 17:02, and Blake finished the flurry with a wrist shot through Salo’s pads at 19:53.

Mats Sundin, who was sensational in Sweden’s tournament-opening 4-2 victory over the U.S. on Friday, brought his team back within a goal during a four-on-four situation, taking a clever pass from King defenseman Mattias Norstrom and batting a backhand past Roy. But Roy was otherwise exceptional against a 16-shot Swedish barrage in the third period.

Nieuwendyk, Roy, MacInnis and Blake all missed Canada’s World Cup loss to the U.S., the first two because they were snubbed and MacInnis and Blake because of injuries. However, they’re as determined to restore Canada’s hockey honor on Monday as any of their teammates who felt the sting of that defeat.

“It’s funny. I talked to [former King] Tony Granato this morning and he said you could see it in the eyes of the guys on the bench, that we’re more focused,” said Blake, who sat out the last two World Cup games because of an elbow infection that required hospitalization. “It looks like we have a point to prove, and we do. We have a lot of pressure, but I think we’re handling it well.”

“I don’t think there’s any doubt [Monday’s game] is going to be a very physical game,” Nieuwendyk said. “We have to remember to remain disciplined in what we do. . . .

“It’s going to be a heck of a hockey game.”