Guentzel-Matthews-Boldy could be one of the most powerful scoring lines of the entire tournament. Boldy has registered 32 goals and 62 points in 54 games for the Minnesota Wild, which ranks him 15th in NHL scoring. Guentzel and the Tampa Bay Lightning caught fire at intermission, with the veteran forward scoring 26 goals and 60 points in 55 games this season.
Ahead of Thursday’s game against Latvia, U.S. head coach Mike Sullivan will not name his starting goaltender. Connor Hellebuyck is the likely starter ahead of the game.
It will be Matthews’ first time representing the United States at the Olympics as his team looks to win gold for the first time since 1980.
“I think we feel like we’re on top,” Matthews said. “We should be competing for gold. It’s the first Olympics in a while since we’ve been able to consistently top there. You want to be the best country in the world, and this is a great opportunity.”
The projected lines of United States vs. Latvia
Brady Tkachuk-Jack Eichel-Matthew Tkachuk
Jake Guentzel-Auston Matthews-Matt Boldy
Kyle Connor-Dylan Larkin-Tage Thompson
Jack Hughes-Brock Nelson-Vincent Trocheck or JT Miller
Quinn Hughes – Charlie McAvoy
Jacob Slavin-Brock Faber
Jake Sanderson-Zach Werenski
Connor Hellebuyck (projected starter)
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