MILAN — For a team that comfortably won all three of its group-stage games to secure a bye to the Olympic men’s hockey quarterfinals, the U.S. will head to the knockout round with plenty of questions to answer.
The Americans started slowly in each game and weren’t as convincing as expected against a feeble group with no other credible medal threats.
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A 5-1 victory over Germany on Sunday night served as a small step in the right direction. Auston Matthews scored two goals, Connor Hellebuyck further entrenched himself as the starting goalie and the U.S. finally seized control of the game in the latter two periods after being held scoreless for nearly the entire opening session.
Zach Werenski got the Americans on the board with 8.7 seconds left in the first period when he found space near the right face-off circle and fired the puck past German goalie Maximilian Franzreb. The goal salvaged a lackluster period for the Americans during which the Germans threatened to score first.
The U.S. found its footing in the second period thanks to goals from Matthews and Brock Faber. Matthews forced home the rebound of a Quinn Hughes shot from the point. Then Faber lofted a soft shot that appeared to be heading straight for Franzreb’s glove, but the German goalie whiffed on the catch and allowed the puck to find the net.
Tage Thompson and Matthews added goals early in the third period to extend the U.S. lead to 5-0. Only then did Germany finally get on the board as Tim Stützle found space near the left face-off circle and beat Hellebuyck gloveside.
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The U.S.’s reward for winning its group is potentially a tougher-than-expected quarterfinal. The second-seeded Americans will likely face Sweden on Wednesday assuming the seventh-seeded Swedes survive a knockout-round matchup with Latvia.
Sweden arrived in Milan as a medal favorite with a roster loaded with NHL talent. The Swedes won two of their three group-stage games, but finished in a three-way tie atop their group with Finland and Slovakia and lost that tiebreaker due to goal differential.
The last time the U.S. men’s hockey team captured Olympic gold, a group of college standouts and minor-league nobodies engineered the Miracle on Ice. Forty-six years later, the Americans are hoping that it is at last their time again.
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That goal is still attainable, but the U.S. will have to raise its level of play.
Gold-medal favorite Canada outscored its three group-stage opponents by a score of 20-3. The U.S. hasn’t quite met that standard.
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