3 'Star' keys to success for United States against Austria at WJC

The NHL Network will air every game of the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
It includes comprehensive coverage of the United States National Junior Team (2-0-0-0), which will play the third of four preliminary-round games in Group B against Austria (0-0-0-2) on Saturday (2 p.m. ET). The United States won 5-1 against Germany on Tuesday and 7-1 against Switzerland on Thursday. They will play Sweden on Sunday. The playoff round begins Aug. 17.
Longtime NCAA hockey analyst Dave Starman, who will handle the broadcasts along with E.J. Hradek and Jon Rosen, will give his three keys to victory for the United States before each of their games during the 11-day tournament.

"For the U.S., the biggest challenge will be staying within the structure and avoiding bad habits," Starman said. "No outcome is automatic, and we all know that phrase 'on any given day', regarding upsets. But the reality is the U.S. should be in cruise control by the end of the first period unless they take Austria way too lightly. We'll see how that goes."
Here are Starman's 3 keys to victory for the United States against Austria:
1. Goalie touches
"More than likely, goalie Andrew Oke (2023 NHL Draft eligible) gets his first start. I'd bet Remington Keopple (2023 eligible) backs him up and probably sees minutes in the game if it gets away from the Austrians. Making sure a second goalie touches the ice prior to the medal round is always a good practice in case of an injury."
2. Loosening up the third line
"Mackie Samoskevich (Florida Panthers), Dominic James (Chicago Blackhawks) and Brett Berard (New York Rangers) are a line that coach Nate Leaman wants to get going. A very solid third line, they have not contributed points at even strength. Berard has been on for all three power-play goals the United States has scored. Samoskevich has been on for two of the three and James is not on the power play and has been on ice for one of 12 goals total scored. Secondary scoring is important and so are efficient minutes by your third line. My gut feeling is either this line gets tweaked or Leaman rolls them a lot versus Austria. That hopefully allows them to roll up some points and manage the minutes of his top six."
3. Pushing the pace
"The United States has 12 goals, three power-play goals, three off the rush, and six off offensive-zone play. They have generated good chances off the rush and against Switzerland they had the ground game going, which wore down a hard-nosed opponent. Against Austria, I can see an emphasis on making sure pucks get to the net, and they keep their mantra of playing inside the grease-pan area. I think the U.S. coaches will challenge the team to be cognizant of creating chances, net-front, off strong offensive-zone play."