Islanders forwards power Team USA to win in world championships
It was New York Islanders day for Team USA at the IIHF World Championships in Cologne, Germany, as Brock Nelson and Anders Lee did all of the scoring in the Americans’ 3-0 win against Italy.
“They mean a lot to us because they are experienced offensive players, but what they mean goes deeper into the locker room,” said Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings) who had two assists in the game.
Nelson scored a pair of goals and Lee added another to help the Americans (3-1) move into second place in their preliminary round group. They are in a good position to have a favorable quarterfinal matchup at the start of the medal round.
The Americans are trying to win their third medal in the past five years.
With an average age of 22.6 years, the Americans are the tournament’s youngest team. Nelson and Lee, at 25 and 26, are veterans.
“We have a lot of young guys, and we are trying to feed off that energy and skill,” Nelson said.
Speedy Larkin, 20, has seven assists in the tournament, putting him among the tournament’s scoring leaders.
“It’s nice to be able to use the big ice, and spread the puck out,” Larkin said.
The Americans dominated Italy, outshooting the Italians 32-9. Jimmy Howard (Detroit Red Wings) had the shutout for the USA.
Nelson is making his fourth consecutive trip to the world championships. He was on the Americans' 2015 bronze medal team.
“I think we have the potential to do something like that as well,” Nelson said. “We are trying to build off that chemistry and make a run.”