United States coach Phil Housley couldn't ask for much more from his team in the first period of its World Junior Championship opener against Germany.

The U.S. scored three times in the first 10 minutes, took just one penalty and kept Germany without a shot for more than 13 minutes.

Sean Kuraly opened the scoring just 19 seconds into the game, and Jacob Trouba made it 2-0 at 8:30 with a shot from the point through traffic.

Alex Galchenyuk scored the prettiest goal of the game, and maybe of the tournament so far. The Montreal Canadiens prospect pulled the puck off the wall on the left side in the Germany end, curled back to the blue line, and when no German skaters tried to stop him, skated into the slot and fired a shot that beat Germany goalie Marvin Cupper over his glove at 9:54.

Here's the lineup the United States will go with against Germany for its opening game at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship:

John Gaudreau - J.T. Miller - Rocco Grimaldi

Alex Galchenyuk - Sean Kuraly - Riley Barber

Blake Pietila - Cole Bardreau - Ryan Hartman

Mario Lucia - Vincent Trocheck - Tyler Biggs

Jimmy Vesey

NHL Network analyst Dave Starman has covered each of the past four World Junior Championship tournaments. He also spends a tremendous amount of time broadcasting and scouting college and junior hockey games across North America. As a result, he is intimately familiar with many of the players who are competing for gold during the next two weeks in Ufa, Russia. Throughout the WJC, Starman will weigh in with his thoughts and analysis, focusing his attention heavily on the fate of the Americans. These are his thoughts on the United States before their tournament begins.

The World Junior Championship is full of great hockey and tremendous drama.

Living full-time in the world of amateur hockey (college/junior), I see most of Team USA’s guys on a regular basis, and they have a good team. It isn’t as star-studded as some recent entries, but the best team doesn’t always win this thing.

Short tourneys are based on four things to watch.

Defenseman Hampus Lindholm will not play for Sweden at the World Junior Championship due to a concussion, the Orange County Register reported Wednesday.

Sweden coach Roger Ronnberg had told reporters in Russia that Lindholm would miss at least the tournament opener for the defending champions, a 4-1 win Wednesday against the Czech Republic.

Canada captain Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a goal and four assists as Canada opened the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship with a 9-3 win against Germany on Wednesday.

Nugent-Hopkins and linemates Mark Scheifele and Jonathan Huberdeau dominated the game, combining for 10 points. Huberdeau had a goal and two assists, and Scheifele scored twice, including a shorthanded goal.

"We knew all three of those players are at an NHL level when it comes to their ability and mindset," Canada coach Steve Spott told TSN. "It's one of those things you hope it works out because Mark is playing out of his natural position [on the wing]. Ultimately I thought all three guys would be on the same page mentally because they're all so smart. Mark has adjusted well to the wing. Hopefully they can keep that going."

Christmas Day marked the deadline for teams to submit their rosters for the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship, and there were a few surprising names left off the submissions.

Canada listed 12 forwards, leaving top 2013 NHL Draft prospect Jonathan Drouin off the roster for now. Drouin sustained what TSN reported to be a charley horse during practice, leaving his status in doubt for the tournament. The team already is thin up front due to the three-game suspension of Boone Jenner.

With a maximum roster of 23 (20 skaters, three goalies), Canada can add Drouin or a replacement. Getting that player all the way to Ufa, Russia, however, will take time, so it's likely Canada will have to play at least one game with 11 forwards if Drouin is unavailable for Wednesday's opener against Germany, or move a defenseman to forward.

Left off the United States roster were defensemen Matthew Grzelcyk and Patrick Sieloff, as the team listed six blueliners. Among that group was Connor Murphy, who sustained a neck injury when he was hit by a puck during an exhibition game last week. However, with 19 total skaters submitted -- one below the maximum -- they can add one player.

Boone Jenner received a three-game suspension from the International Ice Hockey Federation for a charging incident last week.

Jenner, a Columbus Blue Jackets prospect, is supposed to play a key third-line checking center role for Canada. He was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct penalty for charging after a late hit on Swedish defenceman Jesper Pettersson in the second period of an exhibition game Dec. 22 in Helsinki.

Pettersson was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder and fractured wrist and will miss the World Junior Championship.

The IIHF based its decision on a video review of the hit, which it ruled was late and delivered with no intention to play the puck, and with Pettersson being in a vulnerable position.

Jenner will have to sit out Canada's first three games of the WJC: Dec. 26 against Germany, Dec. 28 against Slovakia, and Dec. 30 against the United States.

Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @NHLAdamK

It appears as though the United States will refrain from making its final roster decision at the tournament deadline.

On Sunday, USA Hockey was expected to cut three players from its preliminary roster to get down to the 23-player limit for the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. Instead the Americans made two cuts -- defenseman Brady Skjei and forward Stefan Matteau -- leaving the roster at 24 as they boarded the plane for Ufa, Russia.

It is expected that the United States plans to release another defenseman before submitting its final roster to the IIHF before the Dec. 25 deadline.

The delay in announcing the final cut may have something to do with the upper body injury sustained by defenseman Connor Murphy last week. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound blueliner from the Sarnia Sting in the Ontario Hockey League took a puck to the neck area last Thursday against Sweden and earned less than eight minutes of ice time in Saturday's pre-tournament exhibition against Finland. Murphy did practice with the team in Ufa on Monday. Defenseman Patrick Sieloff was a healthy scratch for the Finland game.

Leadership will come in many forms for the U.S. National Junior Team at the 2013 World Junior Championship in Ufa, Russia.

Just hours before boarding a charter flight to Ufa from Helsinki, Finland, on Sunday, University of Wisconsin defenseman Jake McCabe received word that he would be named the team's captain for this year's tournament.

Additionally, forward Cole Bardreau of Cornell University and defenseman Jacob Trouba of the University of Michigan will serve as alternates in one color jersey. Defenseman Seth Jones of the Portland Winterhawks in the Western Hockey League and J.T. Miller of the Connecticut Whale in the American Hockey League will serve as alternates in another color, to be announced.

Slowly but surely, the U.S. National Junior Team that will participate in the 2013 World Junior Championship is taking shape.

On Sunday morning in Helsinki, Finland, U.S. general manager Jim Johannson and his staff announced the release of two players, including defenseman Brady Skjei of the University of Minnesota and forward Stefan Matteau of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Johannson will need to cut one more defenseman to get his roster to the required 23-man unit. According to reports, the U.S. managerial team is awaiting medical reports on an undisclosed player before making a final decision, which should be made Sunday.

The roster currently includes 13 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies, including one emergency backup in case of injury.

"We are very close to finalizing our group of defensemen, pending the resolution of a medical situation," Johannson said in a statement. "We are set with our 13 forwards and three goaltenders. The decisions we made [Sunday] were very difficult and are a testament to the talent available to us in the United States."