Watching the American team take down Sweden in overtime, I looked over and saw that the ladies had the opportunity to win Olympic gold. They were set to take on those pesky Canadians and their free healthcare on Thursday, setting up a colossal rivalry game for hockey superiority.
If we're waiting for the men's side to decide who's the superior country, why not root for the ladies? After all, the United States needs as many gold medals as they can get their hegemonic paws on. You want to drive the point home that the U.S.A. is the best country around, you know?
So I watched the game and saw Hilary Knight carry the team on her back. She donned her Superwoman cape, soared to the skies, and banished the Canadians for Justin Trudeau's pitiful existence with a goal. Then, Megan Keller made the Canadians choke on their maple syrup with the gold medal-clinching goal. And Canada thought they had a chance against the mighty America.
What can Jack Eichel and the American men learn from the ladies?
Let's be honest with each other for a second. The United States hasn't done a terrific job of moving fast... at least on the men's side. It's been problematic watching the American men get a late goal in the first period against Germany.
Part of it has been poor puck-handling and turnovers, leading to odd-man rushes on the other end. That has put immense pressure on the netminding, which has been fortunately covered by Connor Hellebuyck's brillance. Man, don't Golden Knights fans wish they had some of that this season?
But the moral of the story is to keep chugging along. The American women kept pushing in the offensive end until a redirection tied the game. That swung all the momentum in favor of the United States, eventually turning into a gold medal.
If Jack Eichel and the men can apply that same logic, they can overwhelm teams like Slovakia and Canada to win a gold medal. Yes, it'd be nice to score three goals in the first period. But the United States has the firepower to win it all, especially if they continue turning on the burners after the first period.