Guentzel-Matthews-Boldy could be one of the most potent scoring lines in the entire tournament. Boldy has registered 32 goals and 62 points in 54 games for the Minnesota Wild, tied for 15th in NHL scoring. Guentzel and the Tampa Bay Lightning have caught fire entering the break, and the veteran forward has registered 26 goals and 60 points in 55 contests this season.
Ahead of Thursday’s game against Latvia, United States head coach Mike Sullivan will not name his starting goaltender. Connor Hellebuyck is the presumed starter ahead of the game.
It’s the first time Matthews will be 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 up there,” Matthews said. “We should be competing for gold. It’s first Olympics in a while since we’ve been able to consistently be up there. You want to be the best country in the world, and this is a great opportunity.”
United States’ projected lines 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
Jaccob Slavin-Brock Faber
Jake Sanderson-Zach Werenski
Connor Hellebuyck (projected starter)