[ThePundit]

The last 2 games have been extremely frustrating to watch. It's amazing to think that with all the US fire power on offense, they couldn't score a goal on two 5 on 3 power plays! They're suprisingly getting good goaltending from DiPietro but they just can't put the puck in the net. 2 goals in 2 games is not goanna cut it. They better beat Russia on Tuesday.

[blueandwhite]

It's something in the water - Canadians fail to get a goal in six periods. Scandinavians rule as Fins win 2-0.
It's depressing. No cohesion, passes to no one, shots weak or off goal, energy sucked out. Now morale is at ground level (mine and theirs).
Today's game versus Finland was boring. Which is the worst criticism.

[GigEmAgs]

Originally Posted by ThePundit

The last 2 games have been extremely frustrating to watch. It's amazing to think that with all the US fire power on offense, they couldn't score a goal on two 5 on 3 power plays! They're suprisingly getting good goaltending from DiPietro but they just can't put the puck in the net. 2 goals in 2 games is not goanna cut it. They better beat Russia on Tuesday.

In my opinion the Americans put on a good show, but most of our edge (when we have one) comes from the fact that we come from such a big country with a tradition of pro sports. We have a great big population to draw on, so we can overcome some deficits (like having only a few states where hockey's big). It's hard for us to beat the big, cold montane countries like Russian that, if they didn't event the sport, at least helped define it. The US team will NOT beat Russia if they don't get on the ball and recapture some of that attitude that helped the 1980 team come out on top.

My $.02. Take it for what it's worth.

[CityofBrotherlyShove]

I'm not surprised at USA's record, since I don't think the US team is very good to begin with. But, I am pretty surprised at the low goal total. I figured they'd score at least 2 or 3 per game, but lose because of goaltending, which hasnt completely been the case.

[GigEmAgs]

What I fail to understand is, why isn't the USA team better than it is? It's composed of professional athletes that get paid for this. While its true that some of the best players in the NHL are playing for their home-country teams, we should still be doing better than this. Maybe what someone said in another thread is correct: that a dedicated amateur team, given time to gel, would be better than a bunch of NHL pros for whom this is just another series of games.

Which brings up the subject of allowing pros in the Olympics anyway. It was so much more enjoyable when it was all amateurs. I won't go into it in detail, but I do understand the reality that the totalitarian nations were essentially fielding teams that did nothing but train in their sport all their lives -- that is, they were effectively professional athletes -- while the other countries had the disadvantage of only using amateurs. I understand the reasoning for changing the rules, I just wish it hadn't been necessary.

[ThePundit]

This game didn't upset me all that much because it made no difference. They were going to play the Fins no matter what happened in this game. And at least they scored goals. One thing we know for sure, that Esche will not see another game. Tommorrow, it'll be DiPietro.

Today their problem was giveaways. You normally don't expect that with All Star Defensemen. But that's where the USA really has some problems. Chelios is 44, Hatcher and Schneider are not young either. And Hedican? Jeez, he's an Islander cast off - that's all you have to know.

The good news is: these past games mean nothing now. Maybe they'll just get hot and click: a break here, a freak play there, a hot goalie and you advance.

[CityofBrotherlyShove]

Well, DiPietro wasn't all that stellar in goal today. Not that the loss was his fault. The US played as undisciplined a game as they possibly could have. It will most certainly be a long flight home.

Anyway:

What I fail to understand is, why isn't the USA team better than it is? It's composed of professional athletes that get paid for this.

That's irrelevent due to the fact that the teams they are playing are also made of professional hockey players. If they were losing to college teams, I'd be worried. But the fact of the matter is, there are guys on the US team that simply aren't good enough to be Olympians, and our "superstars" are past their prime.

The best US hockey team of professionals was probably the 1996 World Cup team that won the Gold. That year, Mike Richter was a brick wall in the net and Brett Hull was a machine. These days, our captain is 44, Modano and Guerin are past their prime, Hull is retired, and John LeClair is on the verge of retirement. And the goaltending situation - well, it wasn't their strength.

[Lefty Noob]

Yep, we're out of the Olympics. But at least we bowed out with class and dignity, right? Err... or not. Apparently afterwards the loss to Finland, there was much sniping between Mike Modano, U.S. coach Peter Laviolette and USA hockey GM Don Waddell.

Some highlights as found in the AP's report on the game.

Modano: "You'd think USA Hockey would be a well-oiled machine, but it's not. Basically we were on our own for hotels, tickets, flights, stuff like that... Normally we wouldn't have to worry about stuff like that."

Waddell: "It's very disappointing, because the people at USA Hockey do a tremendous job. There is a lot of pressure on people. The top people at USA Hockey are volunteers...We came here with higher expectations, and it's disappointing. But you have to move on."

Laviolette: "We were down looking for goals and looking for offense, and it wasn't about Mike Modano. The third period was clearly our best period... I think some players in general didn't seem to have the jump, and you do your best to get the players out there that have the jump."

Wow, guys. Way to represent the Red, White and Blue! You only win one game and you come off looking like a bunch of whiners, crybabies and finger-pointers. Say it with me everyone: "U-S-A! U-S-A!"

[CityofBrotherlyShove]

Between the hockey team and our speed skaters, Americans really look like a bunch of whining idiots this week. How embarassing.

[EmpireWF]

Wow, that was an awful performance by our hockey team. I don't know which was worse, our basketball team at the last summer olympics or the hockey team.

Atleast they should start rebuilding the team with more youth the next go round.

I'm still trying to figure out why Chelios was on the team to begin w/.

[staff99]

I think the real issue is with North American hockey. Both Canada and the U.S. teams lacked any imaginative players. Watching the European teams you could see individuals with style and excellent skills. North American teams looked too concerned with systems. The other thing that really stood out was the fact that the North American teams looked extremely SLOW!!!! The skill players for the European teams seemed like they were two steps ahead of everyone and had jump in their step. Lack of speed and imagination killed both Canada and the U.S. chances to medal.

[Lefty Noob]

Hi, staff99, and welcome to GoTeamsGo! You hit the nail on the head in your assessment of American hockey, at least [didn't watch much of Team Canada so I can't speak for them]. On the whole, the U.S. players did a horrible job of freelancing and creating scoring opportunities. They seemed to be too busy painting by numbers to create a true work of art, you know what I mean?

[rmjvol]

welcome, staff99. Appreciate your comments

[CityofBrotherlyShove]

I'm still trying to figure out why Chelios was on the team to begin w/.

Well, there were times when he was the best player out there. He was easily the most fired up throughout the entire tournament.

Chelios was far from the biggest problem with the US hockey team.

[anrobins]

The performance yesterday and days previous shows why the NHL, or at least the U.S., should consider using younger players. Herb Brooks was successful because he built a team in 1980. He recognized that olympic teams don't need the best players in a tournament that lasts under two weeks. They need time to develop chemistry and play together as a group.

As it stands now, the players for the U.S. team got together about 2 to 3 days before starting in Torino from different NHL teams with different systems. They were doomed from the start. A team of younger prospects who had played together for the past year who want to prove themselves on a big stage would have probably done better. They surely wouldn't have been worse.