SOCHI, Russia - Hockey is a team game, and this one was so big that it pitted country against country. But by the end, it turned into a simple contest of one-on-one.
The United States and Russia were tied through regulation, tied through overtime, and still tied through three rounds of a shootout.
Like his counterpart on the Russian side, the United States coach, Dan Bylsma, had to decide which shooter to appoint to shoot the fourth attempt. He chose T. J. Oshie. And when that did not end the game, Bylsma was given a chance to choose again, and again, and again, and again.
He picked Oshie, Oshie, Oshie and Oshie - allowed by the rules of the Olympics, but not in the N.H.L., where Bylsma coaches the Pittsburgh Penguins and his players play.
"I kept looking back, seeing if anyone else was going to go," Oshie said. "I told some of the boys on the last couple, 'I'm running out of moves out here.' "
It was Oshie, 27, who stayed on the ice while the rest of the American skaters sat on the bench, helpless witnesses to the outcome of a wild match that could not be decided through 65 minutes of play and three rounds of a shootout - a point in the game that the Olympics charmingly calls "game winning shots."
Oshie made four of six attempts, matching his big-name Russian counterparts goal for goal, miss for miss: Evgeni Malkin in the first round, then Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk alternating in the others. Finally, in the eighth round, after American goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped a Kovalchuk attempt, Oshie flicked a shot past Russia's goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky.
The Bolshoy Ice Dome fell mostly silent, as if suddenly unplugged. Oshie and the United States had a 3-2 victory in a much-anticipated preliminary-round game.
The first question Bylsma faced afterward was why he had stuck with Oshie, a forward who plays for the St. Louis Blues.
"T. J. has been exceptional on the shootout, and in his career he's been outstanding," Bylsma said. "By far the best number on our team, this year in particular. Once we got to the fourth shooter, and the quality moves he had, even when he missed, we were going to ride him out."
Oshie has made 25 of 46 shootout attempts in his N.H.L career. This season, interrupted by the Olympic tournament, he has made 7 of 10 attempts, plus the one penalty shot he has tried. No one in the league has made more.
But in the N.H.L., Oshie would have had only one chance on Saturday. If a shootout extends beyond three rounds, each subsequent shot must be taken by someone from the bench, until all available shooters are used. Only then can a player be called upon again.
But rules at the Olympics allow teams to use players as often as they want after the first three rounds. For Bylsma, it took some of the guesswork out of each decision. Simply go with your best, win or lose.
Oshie opened the shootout with a goal on a low shot. Malkin's shot was deflected by Quick. In the second round, the American James van Riemsdyk missed, but so did Datsyuk.
Joe Pavelski could have ended it for the United States, but Bobrovsky stopped him. Kovalchuk, in a tie-or-lose situation, cruised toward Quick and casually flipped the puck past his left hip.
Rules dictated that the teams switch order. The Russians opened the rest of the rounds, and the Americans had the final say. Kovalchuk and Oshie missed, and then Datsyuk and Oshie scored. Kovalchuk and Oshie scored, and Datsyuk and Oshie missed.
Each shot ratcheted the tension tighter.
"I aged a couple of years in that shootout," Bylsma said.
In the eighth round, Kovalchuk surged toward Quick with speed and confidence. Quick tipped the shot away with his glove.
It was Oshie's turn again. He came at Bobrovsky and slid the puck through the goalie's legs. It hit the back of the net and the water bottle atop the goal popped into the air.
"I was just thinking of something else I could do, trying to keep him guessing," Oshie said. "I had to go back to the same move a couple times. I was glad it ended when it did."
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