The Olympic break has shut down the NHL for the next two weeks, but we are always thinking about ways to give you information. Today we talk about the chances that the United States hockey team can win the gold medal in Sochi.  Remember that the games in Sochi will be on the big ice, where the rinks are about 15 feet wider than in the NHL.  This really brings speed and skill into play.  So lets start in goal because in a short series like the Olympics a hot goalie can win it all for you.  The US has 3 goaltenders, Ryan Miller, Jimmy Howard and Jonathan Quick. Miller was the hero of the US 2010 team that lost in overtime to Canada in the gold medal game.  They always say that you do not win silver, you lose gold if you come in second place.  While Buffalo has really had a bad year, and Miller has only 14 wins, his .923 save percentage should make him the, likely, starter, as both Howard and Quick have struggled this year.  But goaltending should be pretty good for the US. The US has a pretty solid group of defensemen with a nice mix of age and a lot of size, and a combination of shut down defensemen and offensive talent. At 33 years of age Brooks Orpik is the classic shut down defenseman, and he has the size at 6' 2" and 220 lbs. He will be joined by Paul Martin of Pittsburgh who, also, has good size at 6' 1" and 200 lbs, and is a shutdown guy as well. Ryan Suter should be the leader on defense, and the 29 year old has had a great season with 33 points on the year. 22 years old Cam Fowler for the Kings is another offensive d-man who has 31 points this season. All in all the US defense has a very nice mixture of age, defensive and offensive skills.  This group is not going to hurt the US. On offense the US has two great stars in Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel. Joe Pavelski of San Jose has had a terrific year as well with 54 points. The problem is that after these three the talent level drops off a bit.  T J Oshie from St Louis is very fast, and Max Pacioretty from Montreal can really score with 26 goals on the season, and he appears to be ok after crashing into the net in his last game. Blake Wheeler at 27 years of age has really been coming on strong for Winnipeg with 48 points this year, and his teammates have been raving about his play. David Backes of the Blues has great speed and he can score, as well. Toronto's James van Riemsdyk will be playing in his first Olympics, and the 24 year old is having a terrific season with 47 points. Not quite sure why Dustin Brown and his 16 points is on this team. So what does this all mean? The Russians will be under a lot of pressure from Putin and their countymen to win the gold in Russia, and while they have a top heavy lineup with Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Bobrovsky, they do have 9 players from the KHL. I am sure that they are all good players, but they are not from the NHL. The US team looks pretty solid, but it probably does not have enough depth to win the gold.  They will not play the Canadiens until the medal rounds, if they make it.  Saturday morning at 7:30 AM is the US versus Russia, and I can tell you what I am going to be doing then.  Watching the game!  The Canadiens are ridiculously strong as always.  The US can match them with goalies and defensemen, but their forwards are just too good.  Crosby, Duchene and Getzlaf anyone?  Tough to match what they have there, not even mentioning Nash, Perry, Tavares, Toews, Benn, St Louis.  Wow!  Look for Canada to win the gold, but the US is good enough to likely get a medal.  Canada up next.