U.S. Men Are Left Teetering

Because Slovakia wasn’t considered one of the “Big Six” powers at the Nagano or Salt Lake City Olympics, it had to play a preliminary round to get into the main draw. Each time it was eliminated before the stars from Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland, Russia and the Czech Republic arrived.

With a new format that eliminated the pre-Games games, Slovakia is showing it can play with -- and beat -- the big boys.

Slovakia’s 2-1 victory over the U.S. on Saturday, played before a rollicking crowd under the arched roof of the cozy Torino Esposizioni, put the speedy and skillful team atop Group B with a 3-0-0 record. Group A leader Finland, also 3-0-0, is the only other unbeaten team.

“Our four lines, every line brings something different for this game,” said Slovakia and King center Pavol Demitra, who set up his team’s first goal.

“We just waited for the right break.”

Marian Hossa’s power-play goal in the second period and Peter Bondra’s quick-release shot at 1:48 of the third ably supported goaltender Peter Budaj’s 29-save performance. It helped that the U.S., 1-1-1 with two games left in group play, couldn’t finish its chances and has scored merely eight goals in three games. Much more of that, and the U.S. could be finished before the playoffs start.

The top four teams in each six-team group will advance to the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The U.S. will play Sweden today and Russia on Tuesday.

“The Slovakian team played very well. The U.S. team played very hard,” U.S. Coach Peter Laviolette said. “There’s still more for us to give and more for us to do.”

Converting some rebounds would be a good start. Budaj, who has played 19 games this season for the Colorado Avalanche, left plenty of fat rebounds in the slot and around his crease but didn’t pay the price for that goaltending sin.

“Those guys played well tonight, and we didn’t cash in,” said U.S. and King center Craig Conroy. “We outshot them and had great chances.

“Once they got the lead, they were definitely staying back. Against teams like that, you love to get the lead and have them open up.”

After a fast-paced but scoreless first period, Slovakia broke through at 14:20 of the second period. Gaining a power play after U.S. defenseman Mathieu Schneider was penalized for checking Ronald Petrovicky from behind -- an offense that carries an automatic misconduct penalty under international rules -- Demitra set up the goal with a fine pass to Hossa. The slick forward, a left-handed shooter, beat U.S. goalie Rick DiPietro from the right circle to trigger chants and cheers around the arena.

The U.S. responded with a power-play goal of its own, at 18:24. Scott Gomez won a faceoff in Slovakia’s zone and slid the puck back to New Jersey teammate Brian Rafalski. He passed to Brian Rolston, who fired a rolling puck to Budaj’s far side.

Bondra, who has scored 492 goals over 15 NHL seasons, broke the tie at 1:48 of the final period. Taking a pass from Miroslav Satan, who had won a battle with U.S. defenseman Chris Chelios behind the net, Bondra snapped a shot that was too quick for DiPietro.

“I have to thank Miro,” Bondra said. “The pass was like a dish, almost....

“All our energy was going tonight. Our confidence, especially from our first game, against Russia [a 5-3 victory] is growing. We trust each other and are helping each other.”

Chelios, a four-time Olympian at age 44, said the U.S. must do a better job of clogging up the middle to minimize opponents’ scoring chances.

“It was a pretty even game,” he said. “I’m disappointed with the outcome, but they’re a good team.”

In a tournament replete with upsets, it’s far from certain that the U.S. will equal or better its silver-medal performance at Salt Lake City. Without finishers, it doesn’t have a chance.

“Nothing says you’re going to win a hockey game because you’re better on paper,” Laviolette said. “It’s disappointing ... frustrating. Also, my belief is we know we’re capable of winning a lot of hockey games against any opponent.”