U.S. beats Norway; Rangers' Drury scores

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - This U.S. win already was secured by the time Michael Phelps left his rinkside side. Then it turned into a rout.

A big surge in the final minutes helped the American men's hockey team complete a 6-1 win over outmatched Norway Thursday, but now the club will dive into the deep end of the pool against heavily favored Canada on Sunday, with a bye into the quarterfinals on the line.

With U.S. Olympic swimming star Phelps watching from four rows off center ice, the Americans improved to 2-0. Phelps didn't see all the scoring because he left with 5 1/2 minutes remaining, just after the U.S. made it 4-1.

Nursing a two-goal lead for much of the final two periods, the Americans broke it open when defenseman Brian Rafalski scored twice in the final three minutes.

"We've got some work to do still, there's no question about that," U.S. captain Jamie Langenbrunner said. "We're making far too many mistakes we can't be making against Canada."

The Rangers' Chris Drury (with an assist from the Rangers' Ryan Callahan) and Phil Kessel had first-period goals, Patrick Kane stretched the lead to 3-0 in the second, and Ryan Malone added his second of the tournament to back seldom-tested goalie Ryan Miller. The Americans held a 39-11 edge in shots. Miller was beaten shorthanded by Marius Holtet in the second.

Rafalski netted a power-play goal with three minutes remaining and then finished the late outburst in the final minute.

"Come the Canada game, we've got to play playoff-type hockey - dump the puck in," Malone said. "It's not rocket science."

With only a 3-1 victory over Switzerland on Tuesday, the U.S. was facing tiebreaker danger should it fall to Canada. Four teams clinch spots in the quarterfinals and the other eight countries will play for the other four spots. Goal differential is a key tiebreaker, so lopsided wins are beneficial.

"We're definitely confident," forward Zach Parise said. "There's still room for improvement. I don't think we've played near our best hockey. We're not concerned about what Canada did against them. We want to get out of that qualification round, where plus-minus is a big thing."

The U.S. had numerous chances to put the game away on its power play, but scored only once in five advantages. Kane made a nifty move deep in the zone to get around a defender, but instead of shooting, he tried to pass to Langenbrunner on his left wing. The puck missed its target, and Holtet led a two-on-one rush the other way before scoring shorthanded.

"They wanted to try and put a little whipped cream on top of the plays they're making, and it doesn't always work," U.S. coach Ron Wilson said.

Bettman: 2014 decision later

The NHL might not decide until 2012 or later whether it's going to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said no decision is imminent about possibly shutting down for two weeks to accommodate an Olympics in which some games would be played in the middle of the night in North America, thus affecting TV viewership and interest.

Before the NHL makes up its mind, a collecting-bargaining agreement between owners and players must be negotiated - the current deal expires after the 2010-11 season - and American TV rights must be awarded. Bettman said the decision could be several years off.

"There will come a point in time where we have to make a decision, but we went to Torino [in 2006] at the last second," Bettman said.