Team Canada claimed Olympic hockey gold over Team USA in overtime off a slick shot by none other than the Canadian Kid himself Sidney Crosby. Can you ask for a better finish to a great game? Well, as a fan of Team USA I would have preferred a different outcome, but the fact remains that the past two weeks have been nothing short of spectacular as the best players in the world converged in Vancouver for the 2010 Olympic games. Before NHL action resumes again tomorrow night, here’s a quick breakdown of some of the highlights and stories that stuck out over the past two weeks.

First off, I have to mention Team USA. Here is a young squad put together to gather experience for the 2014 games, and they come out of nowhere to place second in the tournament after going undefeated before losing to Canada by one goal in the gold medal game. Talk about spectacular. Ryan Miller played out of his mind and was absolutely the anchor of this team. But what really impressed me was the sheer determination and the effort shown by this squad. Watching the first game where Team USA beat Canada, I was thoroughly impressed with the effort USA put forth to keep their lead in tact. Any time a Canadian player wound up at the point to rip a shot, I saw two guys sliding down to get in the shooting lane to block the shot. You’re not getting paid $6 million a season to block shots in the Olympics. You’re doing it out of pride for your country. Team USA took a blue collar approach and it got them the silver medal. Ryan Miller was visible upset after losing the gold. He has no reason to be. That team had less talent and less star power than a lot of other teams and still worked hard all the way through to the very end. They earned themselves that silver medal and should wear it with pride.

I thought it was great in the preliminary round when Russia played the Czech Republic and the announcers asked Pierre McGuire between the glass what language the teams were speaking. Pierre answered, “Well, on the benched the Russians are speaking Russian and the Czechs are speaking Czech, but when they talk to each other they speak English and they aren’t saying nice things to each other.” It doesn’t take long to learn the swear words in a new language, does it?

Over his storied career, Teemu Selanne has appeared in over 120 international hockey games for Finland, including five appearances in the Winter Olympics, five Ice Hockey World Championships, and the 1996 and 2004 World Cup of Hockey tournament. Selanne ended his international career yesterday with a Bronze medal victory over Slovakia and cemented his place in history as the all-time Olympics points leader with 37 career points. Not too shabby for a guy who taught kindergarten for three years in Finland before becoming an NHL player. 

Marian Hossa can’t seem to catch a break. For two years in a row, first with the Pittsburgh Penguins and then in a devastating Game 7 loss with the Detroit Red Wings, Hossa has failed to place his hands on Lord Stanley. Just yesterday Slovakia entertained a 3-1 lead over Finland going into the third period where Finland scored four unanswered goals to route Slovakia 5-3 for the Bronze. Needless to say I wouldn’t want this guy on my team because it means you will fall just shy of some sort of hardware, whether it be a medal in the Olympics or the Stanley Cup. Can’t wait to see what he does this season with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Did anyone else see Jaromir Jagr get rocked by Alexander Ovechkin at center ice when the Russians played the Czech Republic? To top it off, Ovechkin caused a turnover with the hit that teammate Alexander Semin scooped up and dished off to Evgeni Malkin for a snipe past Vokoun.

Okay, I can make fun of Hossa and Jagr a bit, but in all seriousness, one of the best stories I heard came late one night when Norway was playing. The announcers began talking about Norwegian goaltender Paal Grotnes and the fact that when his time at the Olympics ends, he goes back home to his family and his day job as a carpenter. After working his day shift as a carpenter, he goes out and backstops the Norwegian national team.  We can talk about Canada’s talented roster or Team USA’s blue collar approach to hockey, but these guys all get paid millions of dollars to do what they do night in and night out in the NHL. I think Grotnes is a great story that really exemplifies love for the sport of hockey. They finished close to the bottom of the standings, but they have heart. And that goes a long way in the sport of hockey.

Tomorrow the NHL returns from their two-week hiatus. Trade deadline is March 3, so things will get hectic very quickly in the NHL and it will be back to business as usual and playoff will be here before we know it. For what it’s worth, I had a great time watching the highest caliber players playing on the grandest stage of them all – the Olympics. I look forward to seeing them back at it in 2014.

When it comes to men’s hockey in the winter Olympics, anyone has a shot at gold. Team Sweden turned the hockey world topsy-turvey when they prevailed to take home the gold medal four years ago at the Turin Olympics while Team Canada, always a favorite for gold, finished in a dismal seventh-place. When the elimination rounds hit, teams better come prepared to play at the highest level every night or else it’s one-and-done before a team packs their bags to take the early flight home. EB already posted his predictions on who will take home medals this year, but here is a more in-depth look at who could surprise and teams to keep an eye out for as the Vancouver games get underway.

The Gold Medal Favorites: Canada and Russia. These two teams are stacked from top to bottom with talent. When Ryan Getzlaf potentially centers your third line behind the likes of Sidney Crosby, who is having a career year, and Joe Thornton, you know you have an almost invincible lineup. Anything besides gold would be a disappointment for this Canadian squad, especially after their abysmal finish in Turin. Similarly, Russia is stacked with firepower in the likes of Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Alexander Semin and Evgeni Malkin. Oh, and did I forget to mention that some of those players will have the gifted Pavel Datsyuk feeding them the puck night in and night out? Yikes. It could be a miracle if any defense can stop that type of firing squad. But with both teams the X-factor could be chemistry. In order to be successful, these teams need to check their egos at the door and play like a team.

The Underdogs: Sweden. Defending their gold-medal-winning performance from four years ago certainly won’t be easy, and the Swedes come in as heavy underdogs this year, but that’s the way they like it. With much of the same roster returning, it’s hard to count this team out. What I really like about this team is the healthy mix of offensive players capable of backchecking aggressively and the defenseman able to rush up and contribute on offense. With Henrik Lundquist between the pipes, this team is all-around good. The X-factor here could be Peter Forsberg, who has missed time in recent years nursing a lingering foot injury. He maintains that he is in good health, but it will be interesting to see how he fares against the top athletes in the world.

Don’t Count Out: Finland. This team does surprisingly well in international competition. Bronze in 1994 and 1998 and silver in 2006. Goalie Mikka Kiprusoff has stood on his head at times for the Calgary Flames this season and could easily do so for Finland at the Olympics and lead them into the medal rounds. Not to mention they have a highly touted group of underrated players led by Washington Captials forward Niklas Backstrom, who currently 26 goals and 50 assists this season. And, much like Team Sweden, Team Finland is more than capable of checking their egos at the door to play as a cohesive team. However, the X-factors are numerous for this team. Will Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne pick up the scoring in what will most likely be their last Olympic appearances? And can Olli Jokinen play with 100 percent effort night in and night out? Every second counts, but like I said, this team does well internationally and may surprise some fans.

I’m Not Giving Up On: Team USA. Talk about a rag-tag group of players. But if nothing else, Team USA sports a lineup of guys who know how to work hard. Sure, they may not have the firepower of a team like Russia, but Zach Parise, Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel and Bobby Ryan (pictured) are all capable of finding the back of the net. Ryan Malone and David Backes add toughness as well as scoring depth. Ryan Miller is having a career year in goal and Jonathan Quick has established himself as a number one goaltender as well. Plus, the team now has a rallying point with the recent death of Team USA GM Brian Burke’s son. That extra incentive to work hard for Burke in memory of his son could push this team over the hump and right into the medal rounds.

In the elimination rounds, it’s anyone’s game. A bad bounce either way could spell the difference between the gold medal game and going home early to catch the rest of the tournament from the comfort of your own living room. Every team needs to be ready to compete at 100 percent every time they step on the ice. Gold medals aren’t easy to win, that’s why they only come around once every four years.