Brock Nelson played a team-low 9:42 in USA's win over Finland.
In Team USA's first game of the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off, New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson got the short end of the stick in a 6-1 victory over Finland.
Because of Nelson's role, we knew his minutes would not align with the likes of Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes, or the Tkachuk brothers.
But Nelson's minutes were very limited in the win, playing a team-low 9:42 minutes, 1:17 on the penalty kill.
Dylan Larkin, Nelson's linemate, played the second-fewest minutes at 11:14. Vincent Trocheck, the line's center, played 13:33.
In Nelson's minutes, he was effective, with one shot on goal, two scoring chances, ringing the crossbar early, and adding a takeaway as well while shorthanded later on:
When Nelson was on the ice, the United States outshot Finland 3-1, per NaturalStatrick.com.
Now, if we were to ask Nelson about the minutes discrepancy, he's likely to say that it's an honor to be representing his country, and the minutes don't matter as long as the team wins.
And if you are an Islanders fan, you may think it's good his minutes are limited because it means there's less of a chance that Nelson gets hurt.
Both are valid thoughts.
The problem here is Mike Sullivan and the coaching staff's route when USA went up 4-1 in the third at the 26-second park of the final period.
Through two periods, Nelson played 5:03 minutes, which, given the tightness of the game, was understandable.
While Nelson's minutes did increase in the third, to only get a few extra shifts, a total of 4:39 minutes when the game was out of hand--just 3:45 at 5-on-5--didn't seem right.
A few minutes after Brady Tkachuk scored his second of the game to put USA up 5-1 at the three-minute mark of the third, there was a stretch when Nelson sat on the bench for over five minutes.
Nelson is 33 years old, the oldest forward on the squad by a few years. But the guy can play and that's why USA general manager Bill Guerin chose the Islanders' center to represent his country.
He’s also the top name on most, if not at all trade lists ahead of March 7th’s NHL Trade Deadline.
We'll see how many minutes Nelson gets when Team USA battles Canada on Saturday night at 8 PM ET.
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