Ryan Miller Helps USA to Opening Round Victory

Everyday Die by the Blade will give a short summary of how members of the Sabres organization fared in their Olympic Games. The preliminary round of the tournament will run from Tuesday through Sunday.

USA 3  -  Switzerland 1 (Ryan Miller - USA)

The United States started slow in the first period and relied mostly on their defense to keep the score tied 0-0 for most of the way. They received a huge goal in the final minutes of the period by Bobby Ryan . Miller was not tested too much facing only five shots in the first 20 minutes.

The lat goal in the first period was exactly what USA needed. The nerves seemed to wear off and the second period belonged to the USA. They scored twice and outshot the Swiss 14-6 to take firm control of the game. They let up a bit in the third period and Ryan Miller failed to hold onto the shutout with a power play goal near the 10 minute mark.

MIller stopped 14-of-15 shots he faced  and earned the victory in his Olympic debut. Miller is expected to start every game for the United States who are back in action on Thursday at 3 p.m. EST against Norway.

Canada 8  - Norway 0 (Lindy Ruff - Canada - Assistant Coach)

The final score was exactly what we expected out of the Canadian team that is the favorite to take home the Gold Medal. The method of getting to that score was not expected. Norway battled hard in the first period and despite being outshot 14-4 they managed to keep the game scoreless through 20 minutes.

Early in the second the Canadian team took control and never looked back. Roberto Luongo earned the shutout and Jarome Iginla and Dany Heatley each scored twice (note - Iginla actually had a hat trick but his final goal was incorrectly awarded to Steve Nash).

Although both teams struggled early the Canadians finished stronger than the Americans did. Canada never let up despite the score while the American team seemed to let up and allowed the Swiss to hang around and keep the game close.