Turin – With Americans and Russians swapping Olympic goals in an electric environment Tuesday night, it was easy to recall miracles of old.
But a modern miracle on ice? Let’s start with a single U.S. victory over any team outside of Kazakhstan. After five games in Italy, the Americans are 1-3-1 and gimp into today’s quarterfinals with loads of self-doubt and few answers.
Team Finland (5-0) awaits with a crushing defensive scheme that has racked up four shutouts and yielded only two goals in 15 periods of Olympic hockey.
This, the Americans say, is their Game 7. But to wear gold in Turin, they will have to win three Game 7s.
“They have been the best team in the tournament,” U.S. forward Scott Gomez said of the Finns. “You can’t afford to make mistakes. That’s going to be the bottom line. When you play a Game 7, the team that makes the fewest mistakes usually wins.”
If that’s true, Team USA had better remove all hints of the sloppiness they showed against Russia. First-period turnovers in the neutral zone handed Russia a bevy of scoring chances, including a short-handed goal that put the Americans down 2-0. The Russians won 5-4, withstanding an urgent but late U.S. assault that cranked up 15 shots in the third period.
“It’s frustrating, you know?” U.S. defenseman Mathieu Schneider said. “We’re leaving it all on the ice. There’s nothing left to give. But little mistakes … This is some of the best hockey in the world. One mistake, two mistakes, that costs you the game.”
Throughout the tournament, the Americans have generated twice as many scoring chances as their opponents. But they have suffered long scoreless spells, notching just one goal against both Slovakia and Sweden. Both were losses. The lone win came against Kazakhstan.
That led Team USA to slip into a sometimes-risky offensive assault Tuesday night, Schneider said.
“We were definitely pressing early,” he said. “(We made) mistakes that guys on this team don’t normally make. But it’s from pressing without a doubt. We came out, we wanted to get that early lead.
“We’ve been playing from behind the whole tournament.”
Against Finland, the Americans will face the hottest goaltender in the tournament, the Philadelphia Flyers’ Antero Niittymaki – who already has beaten Canada, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
The Finns also bank on the potent trio of Teemu Selanne (six goals, nine points), Jere Lehtinen (three goals, eight points) and Saku Koivu (two goals, nine points).
“Obviously, the Finns have talent,” American forward Doug Weight said. “But when we play them, it seems like it turns into an ugly playoff game, 2-1, 3-2. So it’s the last one standing.
“And we’re not ready,” Weight said, “to go home yet.”
Staff writer Bill Briggs can be reached at 303-820-1720 or bbriggs@denverpost.com.
