Team USAs controversial Olympic decisions have paid off but the tests will only get more difficult
MILAN — The Team USA squad selected by Bill Guerin is 1-for-1.The controversial decisions made by Guerin are, too.The fourth line he was roundly criticized for even including as a concept was terrific in the Americans’ 5-1 win over Latvia on Thursday night.
Noah Hanifin, selected over Adam Fox, helped stabilize the defense after a rocky first period.Tage Thompson, a first-time best-on-best participant, was terrific.
J.T.Miller and Vincent Trocheck, both here in Milan despite struggling with the Rangers, were excellent.Notch a point on the board for Guerin against the critics.The complicated piece of this 12-team tournament, though, is that, unlike the 4 Nations a year ago, one game does not count as proof of concept.
Latvia proved in the first period it was not a pushover when Team USA briefly appeared on the back foot.Neither are Denmark and Germany, the Americans’ next two opponents in the preliminary rounds.If any lasting conclusion is drawn from those games, it would almost necessarily be bad news for the Yanks.They didn’t come here to beat the Latvians but, rather, to beat the Canadians and the Swedes, who they almost certainly won’t see until deep in the medal rounds.
No one will give them plaudits for coming close.Denmark and Germany have plenty of talent, but just like Thursday, those games will serve less as proof of concept than as building blocks.Thursday, the U.S.
got to feel a twinge of adversity and work through it.They saw which lines and pairs worked and what didn’t.
Barring something utterly shambolic — and maybe not even that given all 12 teams make the knockout stage — that is what these preliminary rounds will be about.“I didn’t really feel nervous [during the first period],” Charlie McAvoy said.“Watching those games [Wednesday], Italy and Sweden are tied for 40 minutes.
Didn’t come in here expecting anything other than that.“This is gonna be tight.Goaltenders can keep you in games.
We were getting our looks.W...