Team USA is one of the youngest teams at this conference, with 20 of their 23 players making their Olympic debut at this tournament. You wouldn’t know it from their first two performances, albeit they came against two weaker opponents. Team USA has looked dominant in its first two matches, beating the Swiss 3-1 on Tuesday and downing Norway 6-2 on Thursday.
In both games, the Americans have relied on their superior talent to dominate their lesser talented foes, but the fact that they have played as well as they have is a good sign for Brian Burke and Ron Wilson, who had to be feeling a bit nervous about sending the youngest team in recent memory to these Games. Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks scored the Americans’ first goal of the tournament, beating Jonas Hiller to give them a 1-0 lead before the end of the first period. David Backes and Ryan Malone both scored in the 2nd to put the game out of reach, although the Swiss were able to get a powerplay goal midway through the 3rd, and dominated play in the final frame, nearly scoring on a number of other occasions.
The Americans exploded in their second game this week. Phil Kessel got things started with a snipe less than 3 minutes into the first, and the Yanks never looked back. Chris Drury, Pat Kane and Ryan Malone each added goals of their own, and veteran defenseman Brian Rafalski netted two goals late in the 3rd to put a bit of an exclamation point on the victory. Marius Holtet scored a shorthanded goal for the Norwegians midway through the 2nd that gave them a brief chance to climb back into the game, but the US outshot Norway 16-2 in the 3rd, and doused any hope they had of a comeback.
Ryan Miller was touted as this team’s only hope against some of their tougher opponents, and through their first two games, he has looked impressive, stopping 24 of the 26 shots he has faced. However, Miller and the rest of his teammates will have a much tougher test on Sunday, when they play the Canadians. The winner of that game will get the bye to the quarterfinals from Group A.