After their latest loss in Torino, the Americans are now 1-2-1 in round-robin play.

USA should advance
despite loss
By Rich Libero | NHL.com
Feb. 19, 2006

TORINO, Italy - Despite losing 2-1 to Sweden on Sunday night at the Torino Esposizioni, Team USA will still advance to the quarterfinals.

The U.S. gained a berth by virtue of Latvia's 9-2 drubbing at the hands of Russia earlier in the day. If the U.S. and Latvia end up tied in the standings, their 3-3 tie in the opening game of the tournament will send the tie-breaker process to Step 2, which is goal differential. Latvia allowed 15 goals this weekend against Sweden and Russia, essentially spoiling their hopes.

The Americans will face the Russians on Tuesday (2:30 p.m. ET, USA, CBC) looking to end their recent goal-scoring drought.

"We have to do something against Russia," U.S. captain Chris Chelios said.

Related Links Sweden 2, USA 1 NHL.com's Olympics section 2006 Team USA roster 2006 Team Sweden roster 2006 Olympics Archive

The Americans scored four goals against Kazakhstan, which isn't as bad as it sounds considering the former Soviet Republic held Russia to a 1-0 score on Saturday and allowed only a pair to Slovakia on Sunday. The U.S. could only muster three goals against Latvia and one each against Slovakia and Sweden.

"They allow you take the wide shots here. That's very misleading," Chelios said. "They clog the middle here. We've got to find a way to drive down the middle."

"It's definitely frustrating," Carolina center Doug Weight said. "We're having a lot of chances but we've got to get more simplistic. We're looking for the big shot, the one-timer, the pretty play. We have to get the puck to the net and create more traffic."

The shots ended up almost even in this game with Sweden holding a slight edge, 26-25, but every player agreed that the turning point was the Americans' failure to capitalize on two 5-on-3 power plays in the second period.

"Our special teams were really good today, especially in the second period where we killed off almost four minutes of three on five," Swedish goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said.

The U.S. power play is clicking along at a respectable 20 percent for the tournament, but they couldn't find a way to break down the Swedish penalty killing. On the second 5-on-3, P.J. Axelsson broke loose on a breakaway after John-Michael Liles fell down at the point. Fortunately for the U.S., goaltender Rick DiPietro was able to make the stop.

"That was the turning point of the game," L.A. Kings center Craig Conroy said of the power play outage. "That kind of epitomized the way things are going for us."

On the 5-on-3s, the Americans stationed one forward at each goal post and tried working several passes through the crease, however, Sweden's penalty killers did a terrific job of staying tight and closing down the passing lanes.

"Maybe it's just unselfishness," Chelios said. "We've got to get more selfish and get the puck on the net. We've got to score more goals."

The Americans came out on the losing end of a tight 2-1 contest for the second straight day.

"I think some of the execution isn't there," New Jersey defenseman Brian Rafalski said. "We're looking for too much and making things more difficult. The power play was the difference. They scored on theirs in the third and we didn't score on ours in the second. Obviously, we need to get over that and make sure we know what we're doing. We can't afford to give up those opportunities."

One thing the Americans can't afford to do is get frustrated or disappointed. They need to score some goals against Russia on Tuesday and keep the game close. Even if they don't win, they might be able to build some confidence heading into the knockout stage of the tournament.

"(Feeling) a little frustrated," captain Mike Modano said. "You have guys that are used to scoring and we're not. With a little luck we could be 3-1. If you try to force it though, that's when you make mistakes."

The U.S. is playing solid defense and they received excellent efforts from Brian Rolston and Erik Cole both of whom were extremely effective on the forecheck.

"We got off to a good start and got the lead," Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson said. "Then the U.S. took over and had us on our heels."

Chelios pointed to the 5-on-3 opportunities as evidence that the American forwards doing their jobs down low.

"We are throwing a lot at the net," supported Weight. "We're moving our feet and forechecking well. Just because we aren't scoring goals doesn't mean we're not urgent. We're working hard and moving our feet. Maybe we're playing too desperate."

There is little need for desperation with a quarterfinal spot virtually sewn up. The U.S. simply needs a shot of confidence at this point. If they can continue to keep games tight, a lucky bounce -- as Belarus used against 3-0 Sweden in Salt Lake -- can eliminate a team that has been perfect in the preliminary round.

"We've played two good games against good teams," DiPietro said. "We will have the same approach. A team can go undefeated in the prelims and then blow it in the quarterfinals."