Three Thoughts: USA Starts Slow, Takes Over
Denmark was able to rattle the cage, but the answer from the USA was promising in win.
Team USA beat Denmark in Group Play on Saturday at the Winter Olympics, 6-3. They finish later Sunday vs Germany before finding out their fate in seeding for next week’s knock-out phase on the way to the medal stand (we hope). This is the 2nd preliminary match in Pool C, where the USA is expected to win the group and then try to win the goal-differential battle with Canada (which is not expected to happen). If all goes according to plan, they will likely be the 2nd seed and then take their chances from there with stiff battles in the quarterfinals scheduled for Wednesday.
That all depends on things going according to plan, which in this sport seldom happens. But you can only control what you can control, so you solve the problem that is immediately in front of your face and beat the team they put in front of you. Win three games starting next Wednesday in succession and you have just won the first Gold Medal for the United States in Men’s Ice Hockey since 1980. Sounds easy enough!
The issues are numerous. But, yesterday in Milan, the issues were clear and present. The USA wanted to start their 2nd goaltender and they opted for Boston’s Jeremy Swayman over our own Jake Oettinger. This was not well-received in these parts, but I do think any fair analysis of their play from this season would argue that Swayman over Oettinger is not a ridiculous idea. Swayman has been really good this year, but, of course, he would not back it up with a strong outing on Saturday. If there was one obvious issue for Team USA on Saturday, it was that Swayman allowed two of the three goals from deep and they would both be scored as “bad goals to allow” and probably could have been pulled. Oettinger had to be thinking he was the right call and nobody would argue in the aftermath. But, that isn’t how decisions are made.
On this occasion, the USA would have to outscore their goaltender’s mistakes and poor showing. And they easily did.
The USA pounded Denmark down in the final 40 minutes without a whole lot of resistance. And these are My Three Thoughts:
– I know that Auston Matthews is the Captain of Team USA and I realize his resume is what it is, but at the moment, this team is led by Jack Eichel and his play on Saturday demonstrated that he is the 1C for this side and there really is no case to be made that he isn’t the best center the US has playing for them in these Olympics.
