Team USA can’t ignore what Spencer Knight is doing in Chicago

The Chicago Blackhawks have gotten way more than they could've hoped for in Spencer Knight as their franchise goalie moving forward. His 0.885 save percentage against the Anaheim Ducks did not tell the whole story, as it was his play that ultimately led to the team's win. His ability to keep the Blackhawks in games and seemingly never losing his cool should give Team USA GM Bill Guerin reconsider his goaltending tandem.

All three goalies from the 4 Nations on Team USA, Jeremy Swayman, Connor Hellebuyck, and Jake Oettinger, do not have a save percentage at or over .920, and a goals against average under 2.5. Spencer Knight, on a still-rebuilding team, has better stats than all three. His team is still developing into NHL players with professional habits while the other three have been playing behind contenders for most if not all of their careers.

Knight should be a sure bet to make Team USA

His stats are better than the other three, and he continues to put up massive games for the Blackhawks, allowing the team to play a fast, track-meet style of play. Without him in the crease, this team would have a sub-0.500 record. The top two reasons the Blackhawks are close to a playoff position are Connor Bedard and Knight's unbelievable play.

The team makes its way to the West Coast for a series of tough contests against the Vegas Golden Knights, LA Kings, and the Ducks again to wrap it up. I seriously hope Jeff Blashill keeps Knight in the net for every game and establishes him as the bona fide starter. I'm sure we all think of Knight as the number-one goalie, but he has to play more games to make it seem like he is. Andrei Vasilevskiy, for example, plays over 60 games a season when healthy. Knight should be playing close to two or three games out of four and take the net completely from Arvid Soderblom.

Does Arvid Soderblom deserve the hate he's getting? No, absolutely not. My point here is that Soderblom, while good enough to start for some teams, just hasn't proven himself to be able to share the net with Knight evenly. The Buffalo game can be thrown out since it doesn't show his ability as a goalie (the entire team sucked), but his outing against Nashville... Wasn't the best.

The more Knight plays, the more Guerin has to watch, and the more difficult his decision will be. Team USA has an embarrassment of riches at the goaltender position, and we should see Knight on the Team USA roster in February as long as he keeps this level of play.