World junior championship: Team Canada coffee talk; extra pass no way through Czech roadblock

That most damning four-letter word in hockey, cute, was the double-edged sword that Team Canada lived and then died by during its 5-4 shootout loss to the Czech Republic at the world junior championship.

It was way too double-plus intense for a round-robin, with Canada swimming upstream against an opportunistic Czech side that followed the underdog playbook perfectly, selling out to block shots, getting fine goaltending from Phoenix Coyotes draftee Marek Langhamer and some exceptionally opportunistic offence. The Czechs, as members of the 2012 Team USA can attest, are wily if they're able to hang around in a game. They led four times before Dominik Simon made a one-handed move to best Jake Paterson in the shootout.

[World junior scoreboard]

Two stick infractions by 16-year-old whiz Connor McDavid and a brain freeze by Wednesday's hero Anthony Mantha that caused a too-many-men penalty all immediately preceded the last three Czech goals.

Even if it had won, Canada should rue that it left the game up for grabs early while it outchanced the Czechs. Making the extra pass is not the way to get past a Czech point.

It is the first Czech Republic win over Canada since Jan. 4, 1993, before the separation of Czechoslovakia. It is Brent Sutter's first loss as Canada's coach. There's plenty of discussion fodder, so talk amongst yourselves:

— Connor McDavid betrayed that yes, he is still two weeks shy of turning 17. That's the worst one should say, but it won't be.

His two hooking penalties were instances of a younger player going a little too far beyond the unwritten rules for allowable stickwork. Older players learn the tricks.

McDavid also shot the puck into the net following the second-period buzzer, but it's plausible that he didn't hear the buzzer, which is softer than the typical blaring North American-style horn. The Czechs' Michal Plutnar took umbrage with the apparent breach of protocol, but ended up knocking down a linesman. Plutnar was only given a minor.

— Brent Sutter will need McDavid going later in the tournament, so maybe that's a governing principle for trusting him in Round 3 of the shootout after the lengthy stay on the bench. McDavid was also superb in a shootout drill during Friday's practice. Given a chance in the game, McDavid lost control of the puck before he could make his move on Langhamer.

At least Sutter, now 13-0-1-0 as Canada's coach, won't face any Marc-Crawford-in-Nagano questions. The optics of not making a future No. 1 overall pick one of three shootout-takers would be worse.

The Czechs' Voltech Tomecek scored right off the faceoff following McDavid's second penalty. After that McDavid was the divider between the forwards and defencemen. But it's a safe bet Sutter will try to revive the Erie Otters star confidence ahead of Monday's game vs. Slovakia, which could be a track meet.

— The IIHF clarification for why Plutnar only received a two-minute roughing minor for knocking down a linesman while trying to get at McDavid was that the contact was not directed at the official. Perhaps it was an instance of officials being reluctant to apply the maximum penalty, but there is also the view that younger players get some latitude for not being in full control. Witness when the British Columbia Hockey League did not suspend a player in November for punching a linesman while aiming for another player.

— Anyone who advocated for an all-QMJHL Jonathan Drouin-Charles Hudon-Mantha line, take a bow. Sutter put the troika together after the fourth Czch goal and they immediately knotted the game off the rush. Hudon drew into the line after Sutter juggled to adapt for sitting down McDavid.

— Ottawa Senators first-rounder Curtis Lazar likely had the most jump of any Canadian during the critical third period. Lazar's rush deep into the Czech zone on a penalty kill, rounding the goal and centring the puck, led to Aaron Ekblad's short-handed goal.

— Canada allowed two goals directly off faceoffs and also gave up the game's first goal for the fifth consecutive time since arriving in northern Europe. Bo Horvat suffered a clean loss on Tomecek's tally, where the Czech pulled the puck forward and then took a spinning shot through a Mathew Dumba-furnished screen. But full credit to Tomecek, it was an inspired play.

— Team Canada had enough chances to build a lead in the first period but fate, and an Ekblad turnover that ended up behind Paterson, led to a 1-1 scoreline after 20. It happens, that's all. It's Canada's first round-robin loss since Dec. 31, 2010 vs. Sweden. That team took silver, with the Swedes finishing out of the medals.

— One can foresee Sutter playing backup Zach Fucale for Monday's game vs. Slovakia to allow Paterson to focus on the Team USA game the following day, which wraps up the round-robin. It could be reasonably claimed that was the plan all along, regardless of the result vs. the Czechs.

On the other hand, with four points halfway through the round-robin rather than the anticipated six, there might be pressure to stick with the best available goalie. All along, though, everyone associated with the Maple Leaf has mouthed 'we're confident in either guy' cliché, so why not put Fucale in the barrel and come back with a refreshed Paterson for the more difficult and must-win game?

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.