Peters: Breaking down USA’s 4-2 win over Canada at Olympics

It wasn’t McDavid vs. Matthews like we had hoped it would be when we thought NHL players were going to the Olympics, but it was still USA vs. Canada and did it ever deliver the goods, providing an entertaining game between teams with divergent philosophies and the requisite amount of animosity and physicality. In the end, the United States was the better of the two teams on this particular night, earning a 4-2 win to move into first place in Group A.

Canada opened the scoring in the first period on a soft goal allowed by U.S. goaltender Strauss Mann on a low shot from distance off the stick of defenseman Mat Robinson. The American goaltender rebounded nicely and so did the rest of his team as captain Andy Miele provided the U.S. response on a quick rush with a backhand roof shot that tied the game 1:10 later.

In the closing minutes of the first-period, Ben Meyers gave Team USA a 2-1 lead after finishing off a rush play started Ottawa Senators prospect Jake Sanderson and ending with Sean Farrell finding Meyers in the slot for the goal.

The Americans continued to showcase their speed in the second period, with Nathan Smith catching up to Canada goalie Eddie Pasquale and forcing a turnover to Nick Shore who found Brendan Brisson alone in front for a backhand goal to make it 3-1. Canada seized back some momentum later in the period with a shothanded goal off the stick of former NHLer Corban Knight, who slipped a shot past USA Mann on a two-on-one.

The third period was perhaps the most even of all three, but the U.S. took control after Miele was able to disrupt Canada’s attempt to get the puck up ice and dropped a pass to Kenny Agostino who squeaked a shot through Pasquale that was one of two particularly soft goals allowed by the Canadian netminder.

The Canadians got a few more chances, including a five-on-three power play late in the third period, but Mann stopped all 17 shots he faced in the final stanza to help the U.S. claim only its fourth win over Canada at the Olympics and first since the epic preliminary-round game between the North American rivals in Vancouver in 2010. The Canadians had won 12 of the prior 18 meetings and three previous games had ended in a tied in Olympics history.

As a result of their win, the U.S. is now in the driver’s seat to claim the top seed in Group A. If they can gain at least one point against Germany, they’ll manage to win the group, which earns them a bye to the quarterfinals. In this Olympic tournament, all teams that don’t earn the bye have to play in a qualification round game, meaning it would take winning four elimination games instead of three to earn the gold medal.

Analysis

USA’s speed was a factor: This was one of the most evenly-matched games of the Olympics I’ve watched so far and also one of the most entertaining. Both of these teams have remarkable skill, but if there was a noticeable gap between the two clubs, it was the Americans’ speed.

Team USA has gone heavy on college players and their skating made a difference. It wasn’t just the youngsters, however, as 33-year-old Andy Miele showed he can still wheel as he had a goal and an assist in a tremendous performance.

The U.S. didn’t really dominate at any stretch, but they scored in transition, forced turnovers and were able to escape pressure well. Two goals came off of rushes where they caught Canada flat-footed and the other two came after forced turnovers with pressure created off speed.

That was always going to be part of Team USA’s identity in this tournament and an advantage they thought they could create. That proved true.

Canada’s goaltending woes: Eddie Pasquale has been a top goalie in the KHL for the last few years and looked solid in Canada’s first win over Germany, but his struggles against the United States were key in Canada’s loss.

On the first goal, he was down awfully early, exposing the top shelf to Miele’s backhand goal a lot quicker than you’d expect. Team USA’s third goal came after Pasquale too casually played the puck behind his net, only to get stripped of it by Smith and then being out of position as the U.S. worked the puck to the front of the net. The last goal from Kenny Agostino was one that Pasquale got a piece of, but not enough of and it trickled through for what proved to be a back-breaking goal.

Pasquale looks to be Canada’s guy, but Buffalo Sabres prospect Devon Levi, who has been the best goaltender in the NCAA over the course of the season and put forth one of Canada’s best-ever goaltending performances at the 2021 World Juniors, has not dressed for either of Canada’s games. Though Canada is led by an old-school coach in Claude Julien, it might be time to give the guy who is actually still in school a chance.

In tournaments like this, you have to adjust quickly or be left in the dust. Should Canada rip a page out of USA’s book and give a little more run to its younger players, particularly Levi? I guess we’ll find out soon.

NHL Prospect Notes

Team Canada

Owen Power, D, Buffalo Sabres: One young player Canada has clearly leaned on in the tournament is Power. He led all Canadians with 22:10 of ice time in the game, playing on both the power play and PK, while getting huge minutes down the stretch. Power is so poised with the puck and he made some good plays, but there were a few instances where I thought he was just a bit too casual and didn’t make the best plays under pressure. I did think he was one of Canada’s best players in the third period, however, helping generate some chances at the other end with good play at the offensive blue line.

Kent Johnson, C/W, Columbus Blue Jackets: Johnson put five shots on net and I thought he did a nice job of making some plays on the outside. He creates time and space well and showed a willingness to take pucks to the net. He’s often more of a pass-first player, but he was taking what was given to him and created some scoring opportunities.

Mason McTavish, C/W, Anaheim Ducks: For stretches of the game, I thought McTavish was Canada’s best forward. He was around the puck a ton, mixing it up physically and he hit two posts in the game on excellent releases that were just a hair off target. He plays such a mature game and has a lot of pure touches on the puck.

Team USA

Jake Sanderson, D, Ottawa Senators: Sanderson arrived in Beijing 36 hours before the game after clearing COVID-19 protocols that saw him getting tested every day for five straight days in a Los Angeles hotel. He managed one practice and Team USA let him get a regular shift right off the bat. He finished just shy of 17 minutes of ice time and had an assist in the first period. He was one of USA’s best defensemen throughout the game and I’d expect his ice time goes way up as the tournament proceeds.

Matty Beniers, C, Seattle Kraken: Though he’s not listed as such on the line chart, Matty Beniers is Team USA’s No. 1 center. He played more minutes than any forward in the game – though he was victim to two extended second-period shifts that inflated his ice time. However, it is clear head coach David Quinn views Beniers as one of his most important players. He’s on the power play and PK and even though he made a mistake on the power play that led to a shorthanded goal against, Quinn kept throwing him out there in key situations.

Strauss Mann, G, Undrafted free agent: Mann made the most of his first Olympic start, earning a win over Team USA’s biggest rival. Early on, however, it looked a little shakier. Mann gave up a very soft first goal that beat him five-hole from distance and that could have totally thrown him off his game. Instead, Mann responded with some key saves and then stopped all 17 he faced in the third period to finish with a 35-save victory. I thought he was USA’s best player in the third and gave his team more confidence. The U.S. has a tough decision to make between Mann and Drew Commesso. My gut says it will be Commesso against Germany and for the duration of the tournament, but Mann earned another shot if one becomes available.

Brock Faber, D, Los Angeles Kings: Faber led all players in the game with 24:04 of ice time. He’s been one of USA’s most relied-upon players throughout the entire tournament and there hasn’t been anything he can’t handle. His skating ability and defensive intelligence are high end. Team USA has a really mobile back end, with both Faber and Sanderson being the most agile of the group.

Ben Meyers, C, Undrafted Free Agent: Meyers is going to be awfully popular this offseason as NHL teams court him for his services. He might have his pick of the whole league. Meyers is probably the best college free agent this year and now has four points through his first two Olympic games. He also had four shots on goal against Canada including one that went in. He’s one of the players whose speed definitely impacted the game in a positive way and allowed him to be a factor at both ends of the ice.

Brendan Brisson, LW, Vegas Golden Knights: With his second goal in as many games, Brisson continues to put himself in good spots to impact the game. He had a relatively easy goal, but shot into an area that Nick Shore could feed him a quick pass and finished it off. He also is the guy USA is looking for on their power play.

Nathan Smith, C, Winnipeg Jets: He did not get an assist, but Smith’s hustle and quickness to get on Pasquale forced the turnover that led to Team USA’s third goal. He is essentially USA’s fourth-line center and doesn’t play as much as some of his peers, but he had a very impactful game in his limited role.

Sean Farrell, RW, Montreal Canadiens: After putting up five points in USA’s opener against China, Farrell added an assist on USA’s second goal to give him a tournament-leading six points through just two games. The undersized winger from Harvard has shown remarkable skill and vision in his two games, becoming a much bigger impact player on the roster than perhaps was expected.

The U.S. will play Germany in its final preliminary round game on Sunday at 8:10 a.m. ET, while Canada closes out the prelims with host China at the same time.