Team USA’s Jonathan Quick will get the start in the country’s first game of the Olympic men’s hockey tournament, head coach Dan Bylsma said Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Kings goaltender, who won both a Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2012, gets the nod over Ryan Miller and Jimmy Howard for Thursday’s opener against Slovakia. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. ET.
Miller, who played brilliantly in Vancouver in 2010 and backstopped the Americans to a silver medal, will dress as the backup, while Howard will watch from the press box.
“I’m fortunate for the opportunity,” Quick told reporters in Sochi. “And I’ll just try to make the most of it.”
Bylsma declined to reveal who will be his starter for the other preliminary-round matches.
“We have plans for Game 1,” Bylsma said after Wednesday’s practice.
Dustin Brown, a teammate of Quick’s on both the Kings and Team USA, applauded Quick.
“I’m happy for him as a teammate. I think he’s played well enough since the last Olympics to earn the spot,” Brown said. “That’s probably the strong point of our team, if you look at the three goaltenders we have.”
Miller, who has enjoyed a bounce-back season for a struggling Buffalo Sabres club, is eager to see action.
“I would hope I would be more experienced and have some knowledge to draw on, so I hope I am more involved as a person and a goaltender,” Miller told NHL.com. “It is a quick tournament. Anything can happen. I’m just trying to be focused and ready.”
