How will the Americans use Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger?
Oettinger is 23-10-4 with a 2.73 GAA and an .897 save percentage in 37 games for the Dallas Stars this season, tied with Brandon Bussi of the Carolina Hurricanes for the most wins among U.S.-born goalies.
Swayman is 22-12-3 with a 2.92 GAA and .903 save percentage in 38 games for the Boston Bruins.
“We start right away playing three games in four nights,” Sullivan said. “It’s a lot of hockey. It’s a condensed schedule when you look at it from a 40,000-foot view, which we have. We have a game plan on how we’re going to go about it. That’s not to say that things won’t change depending on how the team plays, how people play, things of that nature.”
The preliminary round will determine who starts when the tournament shifts to single elimination.
“This is just based on my own experience,” Sullivan said. “In tournaments like this where things happen fast, they’re not very long, that performance really matters. And so, we’re going to try to make decisions with every position that gives us the best chance to win.”
U.S. defenseman Jaccob Slavin plays for the Carolina Hurricanes and doesn’t see Hellebuyck often in the NHL. But he said there is familiarity from 4 Nations. Of the 25 players on the U.S. Olympic roster, 21 played in that tournament.
“He’s great at playing the puck, and so [he] helps break the puck out a lot,” Slavin said. “He’s solid back there, so definitely have that [comfort level] with him.”
