Hartnett: Tortorella, Lombardi In Dark Ages With This Team USA Roster

By Sean Hartnett
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United States head coach John Tortorella and general manager Dean Lombardi handpicked a collection of players built to relentlessly grind, intimidate and block shots with reckless abandon.

Using the Americans' 1996 World Cup of Hockey championship roster as a blueprint, this roster was built with the concept of players buying into defined team-first roles.

The problem is hockey has changed a lot in 20 years. Modern era champions are built with fast legs and skill, defensemen who quickly transition the puck up ice and four lines that can generate offensive zone time. Tortorella desires to play two scoring lines and two checking lines. Given the offensive firepower of tournament opponents, that's like bringing a knife to a gun fight.

MORE: Hartnett: USA Roster Lacks Firepower To Medal At World Cup Of Hockey

Roster building issues aside, the United States didn't even do a good job of resembling a Tortorella-coached team during its tournament-opening 3-0 defeat to Team Europe on Saturday. You expect his teams to be physically-engaged, relentless without the puck and disciplined in their own end.

Instead, the United States came out of the gates uncharacteristically passive and undisciplined. A skilled Team Europe that fields the creativity of Anze Kopitar, Marian Gaborik, Mats Zuccarello and Frans Nielsen controlled the pace and took advantage of USA's countless bad pinches and defensive zone breakdowns. If not for Jonathan Quick's heroics between the pipes, the game could have easily finished 6-0.

For a team that was built to be big, bad and bruising, USA was none of these things. Oddly, Tortorella elected to scratch the player who could have set an early tone in 6-foot-5, 260-pound defenseman Dustin Byfuglien. If your plan is to be intimidating, then why is the best embodiment of that style of play watching from above in the press box?

It's not just Byfuglien's physicality that was missing. The Americans needed the offensive savvy and cannon shot that allowed "Big Buff" to record 53 points for the Winnipeg Jets last season. Tortorella also scratched 57-point winger Kyle Palmieri, who recorded 11 power play goals and 23 power play points (tied for 19th-best among forwards) for the Devils last season. USA finished its opener 0-for-4 in man-advantage situations.

Saturday's listless defeat has put the Americans in a difficult spot ahead of Tuesday's virtual must-win showdown against Canada. If Team Europe defeats the Czech Republic on Monday afternoon, only a United States victory over Canada would save the Americans from elimination. The Canadians looked like a well-oiled machine after trouncing the Czech Republic, 6-0, on Saturday.

How exactly is an American team that looked so out of sync against Team Europe going to curtail the offense of a powerhouse Canadian team loaded with speed and skill across four lines and three defensive pairs? It all comes back to identity and letting Tortorella and Lombardi run the show.

When it's all said and done on Tuesday night, everyone will recognize the folly of leaving Phil Kessel, Tyler Johnson, Kyle Okposo, Kevin Shattenkirk and Justin Faulk at home. This is a best-on-best tournament. USA Hockey did not bring its best collection of players to Toronto and never had a fighting chance.

Follow Sean on Twitter at @HartnettHockey