Why did Team USA get beat by Team Europe at the World Cup?

TORONTO – Team USA’s 3-0 loss to Team Europe was probably the worst-case scenario for the group.

The team was built on a gritty defensive identity and had doubled-down on this fact multiple times – even though it was pointed out that the brain trust didn’t take the country’s best available offensive players.

Against Team Europe the Americans’ offense sputtered and its defense gave up disastrous scoring chances to their opponent.

The American players had mostly played together before on the international stage, while Europe was a group that was thrown together for this tournament, which made the loss feel even worse.

“They played very structured, and again, obviously some miscues on our part and they ended up in our net,” Team USA forward James van Riemsdyk said. “That’s just how the game goes sometimes, but again, we’ll learn from it and be ready to go on Tuesday.”

The result was also difficult for the event itself, which has used nostalgia as a big marketing tool. This includes the 1996 U.S. win over Canada, which was a watershed moment for the country on the international stage.

U.S. television giant ESPN is broadcasting these games and not having Team USA go deep could prove tough for ratings south of the Canadian border.

Now Team USA needs a win against pre-tournament favorite Canada on Tuesday in order to have a chance to get into the semifinal round. Considering how the Canadians dismantled the Czech Republic, 6-0 right after the U.S. lost to Team Europe, this could prove difficult.

Here are five reasons why Team USA was defeated by Team Europe in what has, so far, been the tournament’s biggest upset.

1. Odd-man rushes

Say what you want about Team USA’s offensive struggles, but the Americans’ defensive issues proved large in the loss to Europe.

Prashanth Iyer showed how Team USA’s forwards struggled to keep up with Team Europe’s forwards up the ice on backchecks, which led to odd-man-rushes. This was how Europe scored its first goal – with Frans Nielsen beating his man up the ice to create a 2-on-1.

Also, Patrick Kane’s stickhandling snafu helped lead to the second goal, which was a 2-on-0. Ryan Suter and John Carlson – two of the top defensemen on their NHL teams – were on the ice for that play, and it’s rare to see those guys give up such extreme odd-man situations.

“We were too far away on our breakouts. We weren’t close enough on our forecheck,” Tortorella said. “Certainly – and I want to make sure – certainly we can’t give up the odd-man rushes we gave up.”

2. The wrong lineup

By leaving Kyle Palmieri and Dustin Byfuglien on the bench for the game, Tortorella essentially kept 49 goals off his roster. The decision to not play Byfuglien – one of the most intriguing offensive weapons in the NHL – caused the biggest stir.

Would those two players have changed the outcome of the game? Who knows, but ultimately they would have provided more scoring than Justin Abdelkader, Brandon Dubinsky or Jack Johnson gave. Those guys are high on grit, but aren’t elite snipers.

Also Byfuglien has one of the biggest shots in the NHL, which could have helped with the power play.

“That’s not my decision,” Byfuglien said of his scratch. “All I do is come here, put a jersey on and go to work when I’m told. I’m just waiting for an opportunity. That’s all.”

Judging by some of Tortorella’s practice decisions Sunday, apparently preparing to put Byfuglien and Palmieri back in the lineup, he seemed to learn the error of this decision. Tortorella said “don’t infer” lineup choices based on his practice line decisions.

3. Power play questions

Team USA has two of the best players at deflecting pucks in Joe Pavelski and Zach Parise and both were on the same power play.

But part of the power play strategy involved getting Pavelski the puck for a one-timer, rather than putting him in front of the net for a tip.

Pavelski does have a good shot, and he scores a lot of goals firing open blasts off feeds from Joe Thornton in the NHL – but he just seemed out of place without having the option to be in front of the net doing what he does best.

“I think you look at our last game, I think we had four power plays and 11 shots, which is pretty good for four powerplays and I think we missed the net on a few too,” Kane said. “Couple scrambles around the net. So I think we had some chances, had some looks, got some shots, but at the same time, there are still things that can be adjusted, things that can be done better if you’re not scoring.”

4. Team Europe’s defense

You have to give credit to Team Europe for keeping Team USA to the outside and preventing interior opportunities for the group. Even though the Americans allowed several odd-man rushes, Europe allowed just one – between Kane and Ryan Kesler in the second period. Both players couldn’t convert.

The only time Europe allowed any sustained offensive pressure from the United States was late in the third period when the Americans had a couple of power plays.

5. Snipers stay silent

Kane was considered Team USA’s home run hitter but he remained scoreless despite over five minutes of power play ice-time.

Max Pacioretty had some nice rushes down the wing, but ultimately couldn’t convert on those opportunities. Pavelski had five shots on goal but couldn’t score. These were three of Team USA’s best scoring options and they couldn’t find open ice against Team Europe.

Even though Team USA has been criticized for not taking its best offensive players, it still has guys with plenty of scoring ability and all didn’t create many chances.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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