All the promising buildup ended with a thud for the Detroit Red Wings at the World Championship.
USA, with Jimmy Howard in goal, Dylan Larkin and Danny DeKeyser among the skaters and Jeff Blashill behind the bench, lost in a quarterfinal match to Finland, 2-0, Thursday in Cologne, Germany.
The Czech Republic, which had Petr Mrazek on the roster, also is done after losing 3-0 to Russia. The Czechs opted to start Pavel Francouz, who plays in the KHL for Traktor Chelyabinsk, over Mrazek.
The U.S. entered the quarterfinal round with the swagger of just having become the first team to hand Russia a loss in Group A preliminary round standings.