USA men's hockey team won't be seriously tested until quarterfinals

The United States men's hockey team opened group play on Thursday with a dominant 5-1 win over Latvia. The final score does not do justice to just how lopsided this game actually was.

Not only did the United States win by a four-goal margin, but it also held a commanding 38-18 shots on goal edge, had two potential goals taken away by replay challenges and and hit multiple posts on shots that cleanly beat Latvian starting goalie Elvis Merzlikins (Columbus Blue Jackets). 

It was an impressive showing from start to finish. It featured a two-goal effort from Brock Nelson (Colorado Avalanche) and balanced scoring from throughout the lineup. 

It is also what should have been expected given the talent disparity between the U.S. team, composed entirely of NHL players (most of whom are All-Star-level players), and a Latvian team that does not have a single high-level NHL player on it. Most of its NHL talent is limited to just depth players. 

It might be a similar story for the United States over its next two group-play games against Denmark and Germany. They might not get a serious test until they reach the quarterfinals. That is when the pressure will begin. 

USA should not be seriously tested until quarterfinals

The United States received what is easily the most favorable group draw among the gold-medal contenders and will have opening-round games against Denmark and Germany over the weekend.

While Germany has a couple of star NHL Players in Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers), Tim Stutzle (Ottawa Senators) and Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings), neither team has the depth or balance to seriously give the United States much of a fight. 

And if either one of them does, that is going to be a major concern for the United States. While Team USA management has faced valid and justified criticism for some of its roster decisions, this is still arguably the best team it has ever sent to an Olympic competition and one that should be a serious gold-medal contender. 

In all honesty, anything less than a bronze medal should be seen as a colossal failure.

As such, these group-play games should be all about developing chemistry, figuring out roles and securing seeding for the knockout round. The top team in each group, as well as the next highest-ranked team, all receive a bye into the quarterfinal round while the remaining eight teams play in a single playoff round. 

It will not be until the quarterfinals that the United States has to play a formidable opponent that should be able to at least give them a more serious game. 

That is where this team will ultimately earn its reputation. Thursday's game was a convincing win and a strong showing. It should also be the expectation given the talent. Bigger tests remain. We know the United States is a better hockey team than Latvia. Seeing how they stack up with Canada, Sweden, Finland and even Czechia or Switzerland will be the important question.