Team USA put a stranglehold on Group C following their 6-3 win over Denmark on Saturday, Feb. 14. They move to 2-0-0-0 in group play heading into their last game against Germany on Sunday, Feb. 15. However, despite winning 6-3, it was a tougher contest than what the score indicates. What were the three takeaways from the win for the USA?
Takeaway #1: USA Win Big After Slow Start
While the score was 6-3 for the USA, they had to rip off three straight goals in the second period to go from down 2-1 to up 4-2 within nine minutes. Brady Tkachuk and Jack Eichel scored two goals within 57 seconds of each other, both coming directly from faceoffs. Those two goals alone made it 2-2, then 3-2 in an instant for Team USA after Denmark scored two goals in the first period.
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After Denmark drew the game back to within one, following a Phillip Bruggisser goal with 2.6 seconds left in the second period, Jake Guentzel and Jack Hughes were able to score in the third period to put the game out of reach. The sixth American goal came from a bounce off the goalie and into the net. Overall, Team USA had six different goal scorers with 13 different players registering a point. Eichel was the only American player to have a multi-point game.
Team USA is in cruise control as they lead Group C with six points and are looking to take the top seed on Sunday, as Canada is also 2-0-0-0 after their first two games of the Olympics.
Takeaway #2: Jeremy Swayman Bailed Out
While Team USA won the game, there were early moments of “oh no” with Jeremy Swayman in the crease. Swayman against Denmark stopped 18 of 21 shots. However, that leaves him with a .857 save percentage (SV%) following the win. What was troubling was the second Danish goal in the first period. Nicholas B. Jensen was skating to the Denmark bench, and with a USA player somewhat in front of him, he just shot the puck towards the net from just past the center line, closer to the USA zone.
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From an angle behind Swayman, there is a darker colored part of the side wall that the puck could have gotten lost in. Regardless, it was able to sneak in top corner over his right shoulder, giving the Danes a 2-1 lead. It was a good win for the most part for Team USA; however, if they want to make a deep run in the knockout stages, they will need to have a quicker start and better goaltending. Soft goals like that against Canada, Slovakia, Finland, etc., could put the Americans in a tight spot.
Takeaway #3: Denmark In Hole After Two Losses
Regarding the Danes, they had Team USA sweating after 20 minutes. Seven Danish players tallied a point with three different goal scorers. Mads Sogaard was looking good until Team USA scored four more goals on him after holding them to one in the first period. In the end, he stopped 32 of 37 shots. He had to leave the game in the third period after making a tough save. Frederik Dichow came in for some relief and stopped nine of 10 shots.
The loss puts Denmark in a tough spot as they’ve dropped both games in Group C play. They have a goal differential of minus-5, and they are the only team without points so far. Their next game is against Latvia, who sit second in the group after defeating Germany earlier in the day, 4-3. While they’ll most likely be in the qualification playoff on Tuesday, Feb. 17, a win could give them a better opponent. They will need to find a way to get a win against Latvia, who will be carrying momentum after their win.
Group C was shaken up quite a bit on Saturday after a 4-3 Latvia win and a 6-3 USA win. The USA will take on Germany in the last game of group pool play, while Denmark will be in the second-to-last game two hours prior. It’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out, but what a wild Saturday for men’s Olympic hockey as Group C rounds out a hectic group pool play before the knockout stages begin.
