Breakdown: TJ Oshie leads Team USA to shootout win over Russia

 

By Nick Barnowski –

After steamrolling Slovakia in their opening game on Thursday morning, the U.S. faced a much tougher opponent in Russia Saturday morning, and the game lived up to the hype.

TJ Oshie scored four goals in six shootout attempts to earn the U.S. a full two points in a 3-2 victory.

Cam Fowler (Farmington Hills) and Joe Pavelski scored in regulation for the Americans, while Detroit Red Wings forward and Russian captain Pavel Datsyuk scored both goals for the home squad.

Game-changing moment

Datsyuk’s game-tying goal with fewer than eight minutes left in the game all but ensured the contest would be sent to overtime. His second of the game came on a power play and Datsyuk fired a puck that beat USA goalie Jonathan Quick on the shortside. The goal tied the game at two.

Mitten watch

Fowler, the Farmington Hills native, kicked the scoring off for the Americans in the first period on the power play. He had two shots on goal in 16:18 of ice time.

Livonia native Ryan Kesler injured his hand during the game but remained active, winning 14 faceoffs. He added one shot on goal.

Former Michigan Wolverine Max Pacioretty was -1 with a shot on goal.

MVP

Despite his team’s loss, Datsyuk is the game’s MVP. He scored twice for the Russians and scored in the shootout to keep it alive. He will be critical to Team Russia’s success moving forward in the Olympics.

Between the pipes

Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick got the start for the U.S. and made 29 saves in the victory. He was also calm and confident in the shootout when Russia was able to send out Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk multiple times.

The opposition

Russia played a stronger game overall against Team USA than they did against Slovenia. They fired 31 shots on goal and could have won the game late in the third but their goal was disallowed when the refs reviewed the play and determined the net was off its moorings. Russia will need a win over Slovakia to build up confidence for the quarterfinals. 

For the stats guys

Both of Team USA’s goals were scored on the power play. That will be a key aspect to the Americans’ game moving forward in the tournament. They proved they could score at even strength against inferior opponents, but in the later rounds special teams scoring will be crucial. Team USA head coach and Grand Haven native Dan Bylsma will be pleased with his team’s power-play performance today.

Next up

Team USA hits the ice again tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. to take on Slovenia.