TORONTO — When the United States filled out its roster for the World Cup of Hockey, it looked heavy on grit and physicality and light on skill and scoring.

That became reality in the Americans’ stunning 3-0 loss to unheralded Team Europe on Saturday in the World Cup opener. With offensive defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and 30-goal scorer Kyle Palmieri scratched, the U.S. struggled to generate quality scoring chances and finds itself in trouble one game into the tournament.

“It was just tough to score,” winger Zach Parise said. “There are guys that have different roles and different jobs on the team. Guys that play with grit, play hard – but it was just tough to score for us tonight.”

Jaroslav Halak stopped all 35 shots he faced to earn the shutout for Team Europe, a mix of players from Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Norway, Denmark, France and Slovenia. Marian Gaborik, Leon Draisaitl and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored on U.S. goaltender Jonathan Quick, who made 14 saves.

Despite the lopsided shot total and the Americans’ dominant puck possession, Europe was in control for most of the game because of major mistakes. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh made an ill-advised pinch to set up a 2-on-1 rush that became Gaborik’s goal, and Hart Trophy winner Patrick Kane turned the puck over to give Europe a 2-on-0 rush that became Draisaitl’s.

The U.S. now has been shut out in three consecutive major international tournament games dating to the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Leaving skilled players like Tyler Johnson and Kyle Okposo off the roster sparked plenty of second-guessing of the U.S. management team, and that won’t slow down after losing to Team Europe.


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