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The tournament is finally upon the United States, and it doesn’t come without some drama for a Team USA that’s already had its fair share through an opening camp and three pre-tournament affairs.
In their first game of the tournament, a Saturday afternoon tilt with Team Europe, USA head coach John Tortorella has scratched one of the team’s top offensive defenseman, Dustin Byfuglien, along with forward Kyle Palmieri and goaltender Cory Schneider.
The 31-year-old Byfuglien was held without a point in three pre-tournament games, and was used as a fourth-line forward in the club’s third game, something that didn’t really sit well with Byfuglien.
Not only was the switch back to forward bizarre given Byfuglien’s success as a defenseman in recent years with the Winnipeg Jets (he’s tallied 154 points in 228 games over the last three seasons), but also what he means to the USA backend as one of their lone blue-line physical presences at 6-foot-5.
With Byfuglien out, the USA will roll with a third-pairing featuring Erik Johnson in his place.
In net, Tortorella and the Americans will go with Jonathan Quick, who was sensational in his two pre-tournament appearances, with a .954 save percentage (62 saves on 65 shots). Quick has probably been the best goaltender -- at least to the eye-test -- throughout the tournament thus far.
Against Team Europe, the Americans will need to find ways to keep the unique and varying skill-sets of a mix-and-match group in check. For Europe, Leon Draisaitl has emerged as a dynamic scorer after his hat trick against Team Sweden in preliminary play, and Anze Kopitar is a three-zone threat with the smarts and skills similar to that of a Patrice Bergeron, who made life hell for Team USA in two exhibition contests with Canada. The defensive group has a potent top-four with Roman Josi the headlining talent, while Zdeno Chara and Andrej Sekera make up a solid second pairing option.
Team Europe will give the start to Jaroslav Halak.
The 31-year-old Halak had one win and a .901 save percentage in three pre-tournament games.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can also be read in the New England Hockey Journal magazine. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.