By Stefan Kubus –
Team USA took advantage of an older, tired Czech Republic team in Wednesday’s Olympic quarterfinal matchup to advance to the semifinals.
Phil Kessel scored his fifth goal and eighth point of the tournament, Livonia’s Ryan Kesler had two assists and Jonathan Quick made 21 saves in a 5-2 win. Zach Parise, David Backes, James van Riemsdyk and Dustin Brown also scored for USA, and Ryan Suter tallied three assists.
Game-changing moment
Backes scored the goal that made it 3-1 with just seconds remaining in the first period. If the first period ends 2-1, it’s still up for grabs, but that insurance marker took what life was remaining out of the Czechs. Having played the day before against Slovakia, the Americans took full advantage of the older, gassed legs of the Czechs with their strong team speed.
Mitten watch
Kesler assisted on USA’s first and last goals of the game, setting up van Riemsdyk for his first of the tournament and also made a brilliant pass to a streaking Kessel across the ice right at the net for a tap in for USA’s fifth goal of the game.
Former HoneyBaked standout Patrick Kane chipped in with the secondary assist on van Riemsdyk’s goal.
MVP
While the overall work ethic and team speed on display by the Americans was impressive, Parise’s particular determination and persistence in the corners battling for pucks was exactly the type of stuff that wins hockey games. His goal was a bit of a lucky bounce, but we’ll call that a byproduct of hard work.
Between the pipes
Jonathan Quick made 21 saves to improve to 3-0 with a .935 save percentage and 1.62 goals-against average. The first Czech goal was a product of their hard work, but was ultimately a fluke that he had no chance on. On the second goal, Edmonton’s Ales Hemsky unleashed a wicked wrister from the high slot to beat Quick after the defense backed in pretty far on a 2-on-2 rush thanks to Tomas Plekanec’s drive to the net. He’s been strong when called upon and will face his toughest test yet against Canada in the semifinals.
The opposition
The Czech Republic was playing its second win-or-go-home game in as many days and with several of its top players on the older side, it made for a tired bunch that the Americans were able to expose. While they showed spurts of great play, the Czechs just couldn’t sustain anything against the strong, speedy forecheck of the Americans. They were pretty even in shots with USA, though, firing 23 toward Quick, but were only able to beat him twice.
For the stats guys
Kessel’s fifth goal of the tournament tied Austria’s Michael Grabner for the lead, and his eighth point extended his own tournament lead.
The Americans boast the top five plus-minus leaders in these Olympics. van Riemsdyk leads at plus-7; Kessel and Kesler hold a plus-6 rating; Brown and Farmington Hills native Cam Fowler are each plus-5 (tied with three others).
Ryan Suter’s three assists were his first points of the Olympics. An important part of USA’s back-end, Suter can play all situations, but hopefully this sparks his offensive game.
Next up
With Canada squeaking by Latvia in their own quarterfinal game, 2-1, the U.S. will take on its heated rivals from the North on Friday in Sochi. The winner of this 2010 gold-medal game rematch earns a berth in the 2014 gold-medal game.