Outshot and out-disciplined yet again, Team USA (2-1) hung on for a nail-baiting win over a jet-lagged Team Finland (1-2) Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., in both nations’ final World Cup pre-tournament game.
Here are seven things we learned, as the Americans jumped to a 3-0 stranglehold yet needed shot blocking and goaltending to slip away with a 3-2 victory.
Starting goaltenders coming into focus
That both Team USA’s Jonathan Quick (.938 save percentage on the night) and Finland’s Pekka Rinne played a complete game is a strong indication that they will be their respective squads’ Game 1 starters when the real tournament begins this weekend.
Update:
Expect Ben Bishop, whom U.S. coach John Tortorella has always dressed, to be the Americans’ No. 2, while Cory Schneider is the alternate. Nothing is official, but when it comes to the Finns, we’ll bet Tuukka Rask backs up Rinne — who stoned both James van Riemsdyk and Patrick Kane on breakaways but got fooled five-hole by Derek Stepan.
Quick helped his country steal its raucous opener Friday night in Columbus and recorded his second win in D.C., stopping 30 of the 32 shots he faced and standing tall by killing off a fifth Finnish power play in the dying seconds.
Heading into camp, Tortorella claimed the No. 1 goalie role would be up for grabs. Fair or not, the gig will go to Quick, who has two Stanley Cup rings, shone in Sochi, and arrived in camp in mid-season form.
O-shie, did you see that goal?
A trio of Washington Capitals — John Carlson, Matt Niskanen and T.J. Oshie — enjoyed the comforts of home, playing on Verizon Center ice. None more so than Oshie, who roofed a beautiful one-timer past Rinne to open the scoring in Period 1 and prompted this bit colourful analysis from U.S. legend Brett Hull.
“He’s a two-headed monster for anybody who has to play against him,” Hull said on air. “Jon Gruden would love him. He’s got the brains to play quarterback and he has the motor like a defensive end – he never stops. He’s one of the smartest guys in the NHL.”
Maximum effort after patchy start for Pacioretty
American bench boss Tortorella challenged Max Pacioretty to step his game up after going pointless in the back-to-back versus Canada, and gave the winger every chance to make an impact by aligning him with a couple of try-hards in Oshie and Ryan Kesler.
So, how did the Habs captain respond?
Well, the Kesler line dominated possession, and Pacioretty was excellent in creating scoring chances and firing pucks to the net. His personal stat line — one assist, two shots, two hits, a blocked shot, and a plus-2 rating — underscored a marked improvement.
Patrik Laine‘s tantalizing North American debut
With the Finns contesting their first two pre-tournament games overseas, North America got its first look at the confident Jets prospect.
Patrik Laine sniped the Finns’ first goal, fired a team-high four shots and had his most impressive game yet. That disgusting sound you heard during the game was every Winnipegger drooling at once.
“He’s gotten a lot stronger during the off-season, and you can see his skating has improved. He’s been good for us, and you can see he’s very excited to get going. It’s a big challenge for him,” said Finnish captain Mikko Koivu.
Even when his rushes don’t yield results, they look pretty:
Team Finland’s brass is all on the same page
Some gum-tastic gif work here:
‘Renegade’ Dustin Byfuglien gives Torts options
Big Buff was shifted from defence to forward as the Americans scratched Kyle Palmieri and Brandon Dubinsky.
Starting the game with David Backes and Justin Abdelkader, the trio weighs an estimated 700 pounds combined. Yikes.
All last week, Tortorella — who loves Byfuglien’s booming point shot — was undecided on where he’d use the big man.
“I want his personality. He loves playing. He’s a bit of a renegade,” Tortorella said. “I want that on our team. I can use him in different areas — power play, penalty killing. If I want to, I can use him up at forward. I like the enthusiasm, the jam he’ll bring. There’s a variety of things he can do for this team as we go through the tournament.
“The thing I’ve always liked about him is he’s different as far as a personality, and I think we need that on our club.”
USA’s nasty exhibition style claims its first victim
Overshadowing the game itself, especially north of the border, was Nick Kypreos’s breaking news that Team Canada’s Tyler Seguin will withdraw from the tournament with a short-term injury and be replaced by Buffalo centre Ryan O’Reilly.
Seguin, of course, slammed hard into the end boards Friday night in Columbus after USA’s Ryan Suter slipped his stick underneath his skates.
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