Breakdown: Team USA men post convincing 7-1 win over Slovakia

By Michael Caples –

Things couldn’t have gone much better for Grand Haven native Dan Bylsma today. The Americans’ head coach watched Team USA beat Slovakia 7-1 after a six-goal second period.

John Carlson, Ryan Kesler (Livonia), Paul Stastny, David Backes, Phil Kessel and Dustin Brown all scored for Team USA in their first win of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

“I really like the way we played,” Bylsma said in a release. “We had a lot of guys contribute offensively and balanced scoring is important. It was a fun atmosphere here today and I couldn’t be more impressed with the job done by everyone involved with all aspects of the Olympics so far. It’s been fantastic.”

Goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced Thursday, allowing only a single goal to Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar.

Here is MiHockey’s breakdown of the game:

Game-changing moment

 

When Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar scored just 24 seconds into the second period, the scoreboard read 1-1. Would it be the start of something bad for Team USA? Nope. Just 1:02 later, Livonia native Ryan Kesler scored his third career Olympic goal – and first of the 2014 tournament – blasting the puck past Jaroslav Halak from the right face-off circle. The goal put the Americans back in the lead, and it was the first of six U.S. goals in the middle frame. Talk about starting something huge for your team – Team USA won their first game of the Sochi Games in the second period, after Kesler started a major scoring spree.

Mitten Watch

Kesler was one of Team USA’s stars of the contest, recording a goal and an assist in the Thursday victory. The Livonia native – a Honeybaked, NTDP and Ohio State product – was +4 on the day, and he drew a penalty in the second period. Kesler played for 18:34, and won nine of his 11 face-offs.

Farmington native Cam Fowler didn’t have any points, but he was +2 and recorded a shot on goal in 15:04 worth of ice time.

East Lansing native Ryan Miller didn’t see any action in the contest, as Quick maintained control of the U.S. goal.

University of Michigan alum Max Pacioretty finished with one assist and a +2 rating on 11:30 worth of ice time.

MVP

In a game with a bunch of goals from a bunch of different players, it’s hard to pick an MVP. Nonetheless, we’re going to go with Kessel. The Maple Leafs forward had a goal and two assists, playing on a line with Joe Pavelski and Toronto teammate James van Riemsdyk. Kessel was +2 on the day, and he recorded four shots on goal.

Between the pipes

Quick’s ability to focus during long stretches with limited action was tested frequently on Thursday, as the Team USA starting goaltender didn’t have to make many stops. The Los Angeles Kings goaltender finished with 22 shots and didn’t give any reason for fans to doubt Bylsma’s decision to name him the starter.

The opposition

Team USA proved that Slovakia was an inferior opponent on Thursday, which really shouldn’t come as a surprise. However, one of the lone bright spots for the Slovaks was the play of Tatar. The Detroit winger scored the lone goal for Slovakia, showing off his puck skills with a deke in the slot before a snipe off the right post and in. Tatar also generated a shorthanded scoring chance later in the second period.

For the stats guys

Team USA had control of the puck for the majority of the contest, and it all started with lots and lots of face-off wins. The Americans won 67.27 percent of the draws on Thursday, and two of their centers were nearly flawless. Kesler and Pavelski took 26 face-offs, and they only lost three of them. That’s an 88-percent success rate.

Next up

The Americans have Friday off, which means an extra day to prepare for their next opponent. They will need that, because that next opponent is the host country. Russia had their fair share of struggles with Slovenia today, but they eventually won 5-2. They’re still one of the favorites for gold, yet there are question marks on the health of Red Wings superstar and Russian captain Pavel Datsyuk. If he can’t compete, it will be a huge loss for Russia.