U.S. hopes hang by thread
Shutout loss to Russians leaves Americans in fight to survive qualification game
GANGNEUNG, South Korea — Coach Tony Granato insisted the U.S. men’s 4-0 loss to the Olympic Athletes from Russia on Saturday wasn’t as bad as the score suggested.
He said the Americans had played well but were unlucky that they couldn’t put away their many scoring chances, especially in the second period of a chippy game.
“I thought it was a great game,” Granato said. “I don’t think it was a 4-0 game, though that’s what the scoreboard says. It went back and forth at a pretty good pace. It was an NHL pace.
“I’d like to play this team again sometime. I think they realize they were in a fight out there.”
But now it’s the Americans who are in a fight, and it’s for tournament survival.
The loss dropped the U.S. to third place after Group B preliminary-round play and consigned the Americans to a singleelimination playoff qualification game Tuesday.
Their opponent will be determined by the final preliminary-round games involving Groups A and C on Sunday. The Olympic Athletes from Russia, the two other group winners and the team with the best second-place record will advance directly to the quarterfinals.
“When your back’s against the wall, I hope we’re going to show our best,” U.S. goaltender Ryan Zapolski said. “We’ve done a lot of good things the first three games. We just haven’t found a way to score enough goals. It’s going to come with time, so we just have to find a way to buckle down now.”
They couldn’t find a way to beat Russian goalie Vassili Koshechkin, who made 29 saves. Their chances in the second period included a four-on-three power play and a breakaway by Brian Gionta, but the Russians held them off and then deflated them by taking a 3-0 lead with two-tenths of a second left in the period on a blistering shot from the right circle by former NHL 50-goal scorer Ilya Kovalchuk.
“I still have left some gas in my tank,” said Kovalchuk, who will turn 35 in April but might return to the NHL next season after his Russian contract expires.
Players from SKA St. Petersburg and CSKA Moscow own all but two spots on the Russian roster, creating cohesiveness that can be important in a tournament like this.
“I think their chemistry is hard to match,” said Ryan Donato, one of four college players on the U.S. team. “They always know where each other are.”
Granato was angry when Russian coach Oleg Znarok sent out his big guns for a late power play while holding a 4-0 lead, but it wasn’t completely outlandish because goal differential can be crucial in determining playoff seeding.
The best way for the U.S. to have avoided that would have been to not fall so far behind.
Defenseman Jon Blum acknowledged the goal late in the second period was a tough blow and said the Americans needed to be more persistent and capitalize on rebounds around the net. They still believe they can skate with Russia.
“I don’t think we should hang our heads low about that effort,” Blum said. “We played pretty hard, but they scored on their chances and we didn’t.”
That’s what the scoreboard said. What the scoreboard says after their next game will be even more important.
But the Americans weren’t the only ones who came up short Saturday. The Czech Republic rallied twice to hand the Canadian team its first Olympic loss in eight years, riding goaltender Pavel Francouz to a 3-2 victory in a shootout.
Canada had won 11 consecutive games at the Olympics, the first 10 with NHL players, dating to a loss to the U.S. in pool play in Vancouver in 2010. Canada opened these Games with a comfortable 5-1 victory over the Swiss that confirmed its status as one of the favorites in the tournament.
Still, Russia, the U.S. and now Canada have all lost in the preliminary round.
Mason Raymond and Rene Bourque scored first-period goals for Canada, which wraps up preliminary-round play Sunday night against South Korea. But Dominik Kubalik and Michal Jordan answered for the Czechs.
Canada outshot the Czechs 33-20 through overtime, but Francouz stood tall — particularly in the extra session.
The three-on-three overtime on the big ice was frantic entertainment with quality scoring chances.
Wojtek Wolski scored for Canada in the shootout. Petr Koukal and Jan Kouvar scored for the Czechs.
Canada came into the game 13-13-1 against the Czech Republic in Olympic and world championship play but had won the last five meetings and eight of the last 10.