Share

USA edges Finland in final World Cup warm-up

Jonathan Quick will be Team USA’s starter when the tournament begins Saturday against Team Europe.

Advertisement

Quick’s.954 save percentage in exhibition games and his dominant performance at the Sochi Olympics made the decision easy for Tortorella, even if Bishop and Schneider have been more consistent in the National Hockey League lately.

There’s simply no way the U.S. are going to find themselves on the positive side of blowouts in this tournament, so the ability to find ways to escape these games with wins is all that will matter.

“We’re getting better”, Quick said. Quick was given two full starts, Bishop made two relief appearances (both against Team Canada), and Schneider was by all means thrown to the wolves of the second leg of a back-to-back in Canada’s barn.

“Plain and simple. It’s not going to be fair to the other guys, but we have to eventually make a decision who’s going to start”, Tortorella said before the team entered exhibition play.

In Group A with Canada, Czech Republic, and Team Europe, the United States will begin their round-robin slate of games with a Saturday, Sept. 17 tilt against Team Europe at 3:30 p.m. You put your National Hockey League buddies and friendships aside or a couple weeks and go after them, and hopefully beat them. Other teams haven’t had such strong play in net.

“He should’ve been on the original team roster they let out”, Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner said at the team’s breakdown day after the season. He was paired with Minnesota defenseman Ryan Suter in that first game, and he could have the same partner against Finland on Tuesday night. “Just play the game hard and try to beat everyone”. If handedness matters, and it probably does to this staff, how Tortorella works this becomes a bit more challenging.

Ryan McDonagh had an assist and was a plus one in 23:23 of ice time. Pacioretty helped set up Kesler’s goal 3:37 into the second and gave Tortorella more of what he wanted out of him after a public admonishment. They started chipping away at it thanks to their 18-year-old sniper showing off that world-class shot.

In the hunt for the starting gig, Quick came through with two wins in two starts, with 62 stops on 65 total shots against (a.954 save percentage). Look for him to be a major factor for the Americans in a substantial role.

Advertisement

First came their absolute gut-it-out third period against Canada in which they held the Canadians at bay in spite of a big shot advantage throughout the night, especially on into the third, against their group. He showed some creativity with his puck skills and was never afraid to take a chance at the net when he had the opening. Despite his youth, the Jets’ No. 2 overall pick is going to be one of Finland’s most important players at the World Cup.

World Cup of Hockey: Team USA vs. Team Finland