Team USA is about to kick off its run for the gold medal, and sometimes roster decisions can be tough to make. Team USA's strongest position is the goaltending, and they have three of the best in Italy for their gold-medal run. Unfortunately, one of them has to be healthy scratched. Jake Oettinger drew the short straw, and he will not suit up for Team USA this afternoon. I'm sure Dallas Stars fans are a little upset at Mike Sullivan for his decision, but they don't know what Sullivan unlocked in Oettinger.
I know one thing about Oettinger: he's a competitor. He does not like to be sitting on the bench or up in a suite unless he's injured. That's the type of goaltender any team would want heading into the postseason in a couple of months. I feel like we are about to see a side of Oettinger that we haven't seen before after the Olympic break. He's going to move mountains to prove to Sullivan he made the wrong decision at the Winter Olympics.
Now I can understand why Sullivan decided to bench Oettinger at the start of the Olympics. In the last five games that Oettinger has played, he's had a really shaky third period. The last thing Team USA might have wanted today was for Jake to allow Latvia to get back into the game in the final period. Also, Jeremy Swayman has been playing out of his mind going into the Olympic break. I can see why Sullivan wanted two solid goaltenders for today's game.
Even the announcers said before the opening puck drop that they expect Oettinger to suit up in one of the three remaining games in the group stage of the men's hockey tournament. Oettinger will be fine if he misses today's game against Latvia. Being healthy-scratched is really going to fuel him to prove to Team USA's coaching staff that they made the wrong decision by benching him. Let's hope Team USA does well despite our favorite Otter not in the lineup today.