If there was ever a doubt that Team USA was a legitimate contender for Olympic gold, they put that to rest in group play. The Americans, who came up just short in an overtime loss at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year, went unbeaten in group play and cemented themselves as a true gold-medal threat.
Team USA beats everyone in group play, earns second seed
Team USA hockey defeated every team it faced in group play. It was often not close as the Americans flexed their might. Had they scored more goals in the finale against Germany, they would have taken the top seed from Canada. Either way, Team USA gets a bye in the first round.
“We never talked once about the top seed at all,” American star Matthew Tkachuk said via ESPN. “None of that seeding stuff. All that handles itself.” He insisted that he and his teammates were just focused on winning and not worried about the scoring margin. Since this is an Olympic event, there is no home-ice advantage for being the top seed.
Auston Matthews led the way with two goals and an assist. “The confidence just continues to grow within our group,” the Toronto Maple Leafs star said. “Each game, I think we’ve taken steps in the right direction of where we want to grow our game going into the quarterfinals, and it’s good to see.”
Canada won 10-2 in their final against France, so the Americans would’ve had to truly run up the score and win by 10 goals to surpass them. Obviously, that didn’t happen, and it likely would not have reflected very well on the Americans if they’d tried to run up the score in that way.
The USA will face either Sweden or Latvia, the team they beat to open Olympic play. “A super-skilled team, a lot of guys we see throughout the NHL season,” said defenseman Zach Werenski, who had a goal in the final group game. “They have a lot of talent on that team, and we know last year at the 4 Nations it was a hard game. I expect the same thing in the quarters if that’s who we’re playing against.”
Good goalkeeping
Team USA got a really good outing from Connor Hellebuyck in net. This was good news since they’d just seen Jeremy Swayman struggle a bit in the previous game. “I thought it was his best game,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I just think he was tracking pucks extremely well.”
Hellebuyck burst onto the scene in the 4 Nations Face-Off and dominated all competition long, but he struggled in NHL competition after. It prompted a conversation about where America might turn at goalie. Swayman is the second-best American goalkeeper, but so far, Hellebuyck is back to his stone-wall ways.
The Americans lost to Canada in that 4 Nations Face-Off Final. Hellebuyck couldn’t save a Connor McDavid overtime shot, leading to a disappointing end to an otherwise stellar run last year. If the Americans are going to get revenge, it won’t be until the final match.
Because of the seeding format, Team USA cannot face Canada until the gold-medal match. If both teams make it there, which at this stage seems very possible, then it will be a rematch of last year’s event with Olympic gold on the line.
Canada has been the premier world power in hockey for a long time, but the Americans have been catching up. They weren’t able to overtake them in the 4 Nations Face-Off, but one could argue an Olympic win over their northern rivals would be a better example of how the tides have turned in the sport.
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