Canada remain cool despite past shortcomings on Olympic-size ice hockey rinks

Canada's bid for a second consecutive men's Olympic ice hockey gold medal will not be undone by a larger playing surface, which has hindered their best players in the past, players vowed.
Since NHL players began competing in the Olympics in 1998, tournaments held on international-sized ice rinks have not been kind to North American teams.
Two of those Games, in 1998 and 2006, were played on the larger ice surface and Canada and the United States failed to medal in either.
"I don't think it's a concern," said Sidney Crosby, Canada's captain. "We obviously have to be aware of that, and if there are little adjustments to make, we have to make sure we make them and make them quick.
"We are very aware of what we need to do, so we don't feel like we are guessing out there. I feel like we just need to make sure that we execute well."
The talk of making adjustments is similar to what members of the national team said ahead of the 1998 Nagano and 2006 Turin Games, where Canada finished fourth and seventh, respectively.
Conversely, in the 2002 Salt Lake and 2010 Vancouver Games, where games were played on NHL-sized surfaces, Canada and the United States met in the gold-medal game, with the former winning on both occasions.
"I certainly think it's a different style of game, obviously different than playing in the NHL, so I certainly understand why people talk about it," Canadian forward John Tavares said.
"We are certainly talking about the adjustments we have to make. It's part of the challenges that you face, every team has to deal with it and everyone is playing on the same sheet of ice and you go out there and try to execute."
Like an NHL rink, the international playing surface is still 200 feet long, but instead of being 85 feet wide, it is 100.
The fundamentals of shooting and scoring are the same, but different defensive systems, transition from defence to offence in a larger neutral zone, deeper corners and more area for defenceman to cover are key changes.
Following practice at the Bolshoy Ice Dome, which will host nearly all the men's games, Canadian goalie Roberto Luongo said the larger ice has a big effect.
"The angles are different, your lateral movement has to be a little different than on a normal ice and you don't want to be moving as much laterally because the ice is so wide and you don't want to get caught out of your position," Luongo said.
"Yesterday, obviously, it was a little difficult, but already today you could feel more comfortable out there. We got a couple more practices before the first game, and I am not concerned about it at all."
Canada play their first game on Thursday against Norway.
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