Team USA falls to Team Canada, is eliminated from WCOH contention

Tuesday night’s game between Team Canada and Team USA was a must-win for the Red, White and Blue who were facing elimination in the World Cup of Hockey tournament.

With their 4-2 loss to Canada, Team USA will play a meaningless game against the Czech Republic on Thursday.

Team USA got off to a really good start last night. The team had good movement in all areas of the ice. This led to New York Rangers’ defenseman Ryan McDonagh scoring the opening goal of the game on Team USA’s first shot, which came in the first five minutes of the first period.

However, just over a minute after McDonagh put the U.S. up 1-0, a shot from Marc-Edouard Vlasic came off the boards behind the net and was scooped up on the right-hand side of Jonathan Quick and netted by Matt Duchene.

Only 14 seconds after that, Quick went to deflect a high shot from Logan Couture away from the net with his blocker. The puck hit  Corey Perry, who was crashing the net, and in.

Just 1:43 after the U.S. had a lead, Canada came back 2-1 – and they weren’t done yet.

The play that led to Duchene’s second goal of the night started when Team USA’s Matt Pacioretty attempted to flip the puck up the boards and out of the defensive end. Brent Burns blocked the puck, got it on his stick and after catching the defense off-guard (they were moving north), was able to pass the puck down ice past the defense and allow Duchene to have a one-on-one with Quick.

The final goal came for Canada later in the second period. John Tavares skated up ice and near the front of the net. Tavares cut towards the middle bringing the puck from his forehand to his backhand, leaving Matt Niskanen in the dust. Tavares chipped the puck across the crease and banked it off the skates of Canada’s Patrice Bergeron and then McDonagh and into the net.

Bergeron was credited with the goal.

Team USA: What went wrong? What went right?

Throughout this game, the biggest issues for the U.S. team in this game were the number of their turnovers in all areas of the ice, especially the defensive zone; their failure to take possession of loose pucks in the offensive and neutral zones; and their inability to move their feet and get pucks through to Carey Price when on the offensive end of the ice.

Despite this, Team USA was not necessarily outplayed. Three out of the four goals the Canadians scored were flukes. Team USA did cough up turnover after turnover, but in the second and third periods, Canada was doing the same.

Team USA had three near goals in the last eight minutes of the game. Two shots by Derek Stepan and Dustin Byfuglien hit the post and a third chance by Oshie almost went in the net off a shot that grazed the side of Price’s glove.

It arguably could have been a tie game in the third and T.J. Oshie’s stuff-in goal late in the third.

The 2016 Team U.S.A World Cup team was put together to serve as a big, physical force. They suffered from a lack of speed on the offense and positioning on the defense. They let the Canadians push them on their heels, and before they knew it they were in a deep, deep hole. When any team plays in this kind of circumstance it is hard to come out, but it is even harder when you are playing against the most dominant team in the world of hockey.

The Americans needed every one of their players to come out strong and play the game they needed to play. Up until the third period they failed on both fronts. Had the Americans had a few more inches and another five minutes, perhaps they could have come back win.

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But for now, they will have to wait another four years to seek vengeance.