American hockey is better than this.
Hockey is, too, for that matter.
The U.S. men’s national team was eliminated from the sport’s World Cup by archrival Canada on Tuesday night, falling four goals to two in a flat performance dotted by lapses in focus and fundamental play. It was the second defeat in two tries for the United States in this tournament, the first coming to “Team Europe”—an all-star squad of competitors from the continent outside the traditional hockey powers of Russia, Finland, Sweden, and the Czech Republic. The States lost that contest 3-0.
There’s a pattern in the scoring lines. In 120 minutes of play in Toronto, the event’s host city, the Americans have netted just two goals. In the final 120 minutes they skated during the 2014 Sochi Olympics—the last time the national team rostered active NHL players exclusively—they recorded zero goals. They’ve been outscored 13-2 in that span, including a 5-0 shellacking against the Fins in the Olympic bronze medal game.
That’s a dreadful stretch for a nation now ranked fourth in the world, tying its highest all-time mark. The United States appeared to have established themselves in international competition this era at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, when they beat the host Canadians during group play but were denied gold in a tense overtime rematch. Despite the eventual disappointment in Sochi, they at least bested the Russians and Czechs and posted the widest goal differential of any side during the preliminary stage. But the once-promising run for this generation of American players has slowed abruptly and will conclude after a meaningless game against the Czechs later this week.
What happened? The U.S. team fell behind in the talent gap—and some of it was voluntary. As forward T.J. Oshie put it before the game against Canada on Tuesday, “If it comes to 100 percent skill, they win. 100 percent grit, we win.” (Oshie was 100 percent clutch in a memorable shootout performance against Russia in Sochi.) The current roster was constructed to beat Canada specifically with physicality and left skilled offensive threats like Phil Kessel and Tyler Johnson off the list. Kessel was named the top forward of the Sochi Olympics and just helped the Pittsburgh Penguins capture the Stanley Cup with 10 goals and 12 assists in 24 playoff games. Johnson is the center of a three-headed scoring monster for the Tampa Bay Lightning known as “The Triplets”. Either player would have bolstered the team’s firepower.
But the defense also struggled, with the pairing of bruisers Dustin Byfuglien (“Big Buff”, he’s called) and Erik Johnson conceding key chances against the Canadians. Overall, it’s fair to say that goaltender Jonathan Quick only surrendered four goals in the contest.
Then there’s the composition of the World Cup itself, which includes arbitrary, continental lineups that potentially deprived the States of goal-scoring talent. To fill out the field of eight teams, the World Cup includes “Team North America”—an electric mix of under-23 American and Canadian stars that could overwhelm a surge protector. The roster features 23-year-old Johnny Gaudreau and 19-year-old Jack Eichel, both of Massachusetts, and 23-year-old Shayne Gostisbehere of Florida. Gaudreau is a stat-stuffer for the Calgary Flames (78 combined goals and assists in 79 games last year), Eichel was the nation’s best college player in 2015 before a making strong debut with the Buffalo Sabres, and “Ghost” is the type of defenseman the States could’ve used: comparatively smaller but offensively minded.
Those guys will grow up soon enough. And regardless of whom they represent in the randomly concocted World Cup, they’ll be ready for the stars and stripes well ahead of the South Korea Olympics in two years.
