Pittsburgh Penguins - now Team USA - head coach Mike Sullivan made an impression on the 6-1 victory for the Americans against Finland on Thursday

It was a slow start for a star-studded Team USA on Thursday night, as Team Finland kept them on the ropes during the first period and change. 

Then, Team USA and Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan got to work.

In a 1-1 tie midway through the second frame - with goals by Finland's Henri Jokiharju and USA's Brady Tkachuk during the first period - the Americans were looking for a spark. Since the tournament is short, making on-the-fly adjustments - and the right ones - is paramount to having success.

Sullivan decided to bump Brady Tkachuk up to the second line with Jack Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk, his older brother, and move Kyle Connor down with J.T. Miller and Matt Boldy. 

It took 20 minutes to gel together, but once it did, the line - and the American team - was unstoppable.

After Boldy scored a late second-period goal to put Team USA up, 2-1 - which was also a consequence of the line switch - a carryover power play resulted in a quick strike by Matthew Tkachuk just 15 seconds into the third period, and the rest was history. Jake Guentzel added another goal just 11 seconds later, and both Tkachuks got on the board again in the third to power the Americans to victory, 6-1.

Each Tkachuk brother had two goals, and Matthew had three points. But none of that may have happened if not for Sullivan's decision to make the line change when he did and give the brothers a chance to play together.

"I think it's pretty cool when you have an opportunity to play with your brother, there might be some added motivation or some added inspiration to want to play," Sullivan said. "I thought when we made the switch - we put them with Jack Eichel - I think they have a funny way of just dragging us into the fight."

The Tkachuks were grateful for the opportunity as well.

"I think it was better than all those dreams we had," Brady Tkachuk said. "It's amazing. Honestly, I don't really have words to describe it right now."

Even though the line change was the most notable of Sullivan's adjustments, there were other areas of the game that had Sullivan's fingerprints all over it as well - including the U.S. power play. 

The power play looked a bit dysfunctional and disjointed after two go-rounds in the first two periods. It wasn't until the carryover power play from the second to the third period that the unit capitalized, but they also capitalized on a power play opportunity for their sixth goal - Matthew Tkachuk's second power play goal of the evening - midway through the third.

The power play structure is the same as the one the Penguins deploy, which has hung around top-five ranks for most of the season. Sullivan is also sure to give both units ample time on the ice as well as distribute the star power evenly on each - just as the units are split in Pittsburgh.

All in all, Pittsburgh's head coach pushed all the right buttons to help lead his team to victory on Thursday. Team USA has an even bigger test ahead of them on Saturday, as they face a stacked Team Canada in Montreal - against Penguins captain and Team Canada's game one MVP, Sidney Crosby.

Right now, Team USA three points leads the way for the round-robin play, as they are the only team with a regulation win. Canada ranks second with two after their 4-3 overtime victory Wednesday against Sweden, followed by the Swedes (one) and Finland (none). In addition, Matthew Tkachuk, Team USA defenseman Zach Werenski, and Crosby are all tied for the tournament lead in points with three.

Sullivan knows the hockey world has been waiting for the USA-Canada matchup for nearly a decade. And he is looking forward to it.

"It's going to be electric," he said.

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