Not quite a new Leaf

TURIN -- Team Canada got a tiny bit of its groove back yesterday, thanks to the sieve that was Czech Republic goalie Tomas Vokoun.

The Canadians, fresh off lackluster back-to-back 2-0 shutouts, mounted a 3-0 lead in the first period, scoring on a couple of soft goals against Vokoun, the normally sure-handed backstop of the Nashville Predators. Team Maple Leaf scored on three of eight shots in the first period, and finished on the short end of a lopsided 33-16 shot total for the night in its 3-2 victory.

A win is a win, but this one could not be seen as a true confidence-builder as the wrapup to the Olympic tournament's qualifying round. The Canadians, who filed somberly into their locker room after the match, finished 3-2, in third place in the 'A' Pool, and will take on Russia in the start of today's one-and-done playoff round.

''We'll take that cookie that tonight was," said Canadian coach Pat Quinn, noting that his country rarely has beaten the Czechs on the world stage. ''It's a victory, and a good one."

Good, yes, in that it was not a loss. But the Canadians still looked shaky, vastly inferior to the squad that struck gold at Salt Lake City in 2002 for the first time in a half-century. If not for the sensational netminding of Martin Brodeur, Team Canada would have been run out of the rink by a Czech squad that piled up a 26-8 shot advantage over the final 40 minutes.

The Czechs yanked Vokoun after 20 minutes and received dependable netminding from Milan Hnilicka, who saved all eight shots he faced. Earlier in the tourney, the Czechs lost their No. 1 goalie, Dominik Hasek, to a groin injury. The Dominator left last week for Ottawa, where he is being evaluated by Senators doctors.

''We began to play a line-rush game," said Quinn, not happy that his club spent the last 40 minutes too often attempting to trade scoring chances with the Czechs. ''We have to be a better team, no question about it -- and we will be."

The first of the Czech gifts came 7:37 into the first when Brad Richards connected on a long-range wrister between Vokoun's pads, an easy stop turned into a deficit by the 29-year-old. The shot wasn't screened. It wasn't tipped. It was simply missed.

At 11:19, former University of Vermont star Martin St. Louis connected on a power play, on a low-percentage slapper from the goal line some 12 feet to the side of the right post. Ryan Smyth was blitzing the slot, but never got a stick on it. Vokoun appeared to be anticipating a deflection off Smyth's stick but didn't plan for the worst-case scenario -- St. Louis's slapper sailing past him for the 2-0 lead.

The Canadians wrapped up their scoring, and all but put their offense in cold storage for the night, when Chris Pronger skated into a velvety Joe Thornton feed and smoked it past the beleaguered Vokoun at 19:24. Nothing short of a three-inch thick steel plate would have stopped that one.

''Our team needed a new impulse after the first period," said Czech coach Alois Hadamczik, explaining why he hooked the porous Vokoun. ''It wasn't Tomas Vokoun's fault that we were at 3-0, but we decided to change."

Attempting to inject a little humor, Hadamczik added, ''Maybe it was a strategy [by Vokoun] to have us player better [today]."

As the Canadians fell dormant, and picked up penalties, the talented Czechs began to climb back. Pavel Kubina connected on a 5-on-3 power play at 13:46 of the second, with help from Jaromir Jagr and Martin Rucinsky. Less than three minutes into the third, Petr Cajanek clicked at even strength, and the Canadians entrusted the next 17:19 to Brodeur.

''We picked up our game," said Rucinsky. ''We put a lot of shots on Marty, but he's one of the best -- if not the best -- in the world. It's frustrating for us not to play well. Yeah, we picked it up, but we have to find a way to win."

Canadian team director Wayne Gretzky, appearing on his country's TV broadcast after the win, seemed composed, and flashed his trademark grin. It was good to see his Canadian boys, he said, ''With a sparkle in their eyes and smiles on their faces."

But said veteran center Joe Sakic, ''We know if we are going to win, we have to play better."