Staple's analysis: Despite win over Norway, U.S. has a ways to go

This was a 6-1 win that almost felt like a loss. That's because the U.S. men's hockey team seemed to progress in only a couple of areas while defeating Norway Thursday in Vancouver, and perhaps took a step back in a couple of other areas.

First, the good news: Ron Wilson's Americans have a genuine No. 1 forward line that has some real chemistry. The Sharks' Joe Pavelski, the Lightning's Ryan Malone and the Leafs' Phil Kessel generated many good scoring chances and looked very much in sync.

Pavelski, 25, was a real revelation, the sort of talented two-way center the U.S. team will need against Canada on Sunday. He had two assists and set up a few more chances.

Also in the good-news column, once again, were the two Rangers on Team USA. Chris Drury swept home a rebound of Ryan Callahan's shot in the first and the two, again used intermittently at even strength and as penalty-killers, provided an excellent rate of return on their relatively few minutes on the ice.

Lastly for the good stuff would be goaltender Ryan Miller. He faced only 11 shots, but there an equal number of good scoring opportunities for Norway, which was gifted with odd-man rush after odd-man rush and, in a much more disturbing development, controlled the play on its power play.

That's really it for the good stuff. The game was 3-1 until five minutes left, when the Americans poured on some needed goals for medal-round seeding. But until then, it was not just a game effort by Norway, it was a messy one by the U.S., particularly from the defense.

"We've got to come out stronger the first two periods," David Backes, one of the fourth-line bangers who did his job well yesterday, told NBC's Pierre McGuire after the game. "We gave up way too many odd-man rushes, and Ryan Miller was huge for us. The 6-1 score wasn't indicative of the game by any means."

Rangers coach John Tortorella is in charge of the defense for the U.S. squad, and perhaps the defense corps is due for one of Tortorella's paint-peeling tirades; the group of seven frequently tried to join the offensive flow, as it did against Switzerland, but it almost always resulted in a turnover and a two-on-one the other way.

Only Backes, when he darted to the point to fill in for a pinching Brooks Orpik, made something out of the defense's efforts in the opposing zone. He fed Callahan to start the play that ended with Drury's goal. Otherwise, the American forwards were a bit lazy in filling in for defensemen jumping up, and the defensemen made poorly timed moves.

Blackhawks star Patrick Kane clearly is the most talented player on the American roster, but his freelancing seems to be out of place on a line with Zach Parise and Paul Stastny, two talented guys who are true north-south, hard-working players. Kane needs to get with the program before Sunday.

He's on a long list. The U.S, team came to these Olympics with solid underdog status; in their two wins, they've played long stretches of each as if they don't need to work hard to put teams away.

Veteran defenseman Brian Rafalski admitted as much after the game, telling McGuire, "We obviously have a lot more respect for [Canada's] forwards than we do for a lot of the guys we faced today."

With that attitude, Sunday could be a long day for the U.S. unless they get themselves figured out.