VANCOUVER -- Really, there was only so much that we could learn. There might be the appearance of data, yes -- goals and line combinations and everything else. And yes, it might be meaningful.
But it also came against Norway, and that's a long way from the United States or Russia or Sweden, which is where Canada will need to be. So perhaps all the microanalysis and spotlight examination that will doubtless follow Canada's Olympics-opening 8-0 victory over Norway at Canada Hockey Place should be taken, at the very least, with a pound or two of salt.
"It's too hard to compare teams right now," said Chris Pronger, when asked about this team versus the 2006 edition. "We're in our infancy right now in trying to find ourselves, and chemistry, and line combinations, and matchups, and all the rest of that. So it's pretty early."
That it is. But after one game, here is some of what we think we may have learned:
First, we learned that this team is not instant coffee. After one period the score was 0-0, and it was only partly due to the fact that while they may not have been wearing the checkerboard nightmare pants of their country's curling team, these were clearly some damned plucky Norwegians.
"I think it's important for you to not just go out and score five goals in the first period," said coach Mike Babcock. "I think you've got to battle through some adversity."
We learned that for Canadian games the rechristened Canada Hockey Place will be a bonfire of red and white and the maple leaf. God help the roof if Canada and Russia meet in the gold medal final, because that could blow the thing right off. On a related note, we learned that Hockey Canada has sold a lot of jerseys.
"When you see it, it feels like a totally different place," said Jarome Iginla, who scored a hat trick. "There was actually more red and white than I imagined."
After that scoreless first period, we learned that the combinations, as Babcock promised, were written in extremely slushy ice. By the second period Iginla had replaced Patrice Bergeron on Sidney Crosby's line with Rick Nash, and though his hat-trick goal was credited for a long time to Nash, Iginla confirmed that he tipped it. So yeah, maybe that line juggle was a good idea.
"I think it's really important to have a bunch of hungry players here," said Babcock. "And it's interesting how all the guys who were real hungry played so well. Iggy would be another one. And maybe that's just some information for the coach there. I talked to Iggy at the start.
"We need him to be a physical presence for us, we need him to be really hard to play against."
We learned Crosby is not fooling around. After being held up in the neutral zone by the extravagantly named Mats Zuccarello Aasen, the Penguins star skated after Zuccarello Aasen and delivered an angry elbow that earned him a roughing minor.
And while Crosby may not be the nominal captain of this team, he is clearly its fulcrum. He does not wear the A on his sweater, but when he was on the ice, he stood out, even among Canada's glittering hockey constellation.
"I thought Crosby was really good," said Babcock. "His will, his determination -- everyone talks about his skill, but that's what I like."
We learned that Roberto Luongo can shut out Norway. Which means that in regards to Sunday's goaltender against the U.S. -- Martin Brodeur is starting against Switzerland Thursday -- we learned precisely nothing much at all.
"I don't think it was a secret that nobody was exactly on fire coming into this," said Babcock. "If you're Lou, and going to start today, you're trying to make a statement that you want to start again."
We learned that the Norwegians, who were buried as the game wore on, get tired. And National Hockey League stars, playing reduced if intense minutes, do not.
"As the game went on, we got better," said Crosby. "That's pretty typical. When you've got so many great players around each other, you start trying to find those guys, and play to their strengths."
But again, it was Norway, and it's possible that we didn't learn much more than we already knew. This tournament will surely become a nervier, more dangerous, bounce-of-the-puck affair at some point, but Tuesday was not that day. And Switzerland's peskiness aside, we're probably all spinning our wheels until Sunday, when the United States and Canada will meet on a rather different hockey night, in Canada. Until then, class is dismissed.
Photo: Chris Pronger of Canada celebrates a goal with teammates during the ice hockey men's preliminary game between Canada and Norway at Canada Hockey Place on February 16, 2010. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
