Yes, Suzuki lost face offs, however, they did not lead to any USA goals.
The corollary is that Suzuki's lost faceoffs did not lead to any Canadian goals either. McDavid and McKinnon were out there because they are Canada's 2 best offensive players/point producers and also are very fast skaters in open ice. Whether Suzuki may have been a better choice for some ice time 3 on 3 in terms of his decision making, his defensive positioning etc. is another debate. What data do we really have on which guys are great 3 on 3 players? Almost none, since the NHL is not using this format to decide OT games.
The coaches went with their instincts on who should be out there 3 on 3. Honestly I was surprised Zach Werenski rather than Quinn Hughes was out there for Team USA, but as we saw the Werenski check on McKinnon and subsequent game winning assist were key elements of the golden goal. Werenski has also been a better than point a game defenseman both this season and last. He is perhaps the most underrated defenseman in the NHL.
I was not surprised Jack Hughes was out there, as he is known as a great skater in open ice and had been the team's leading scorer. You could reliably guess that he could possibly make a play to win the game as he did. So my praise to Coach Sullivan to have both Jack Hughes and Zach Werenski out there for the 3 on 3 at that moment.
Another interesting factoid: all 4 American players on ice for the winning goal (Hughes, Werenski, Larkin, Hellebuyck) are Michiganders. So Team Canada was really beaten by Team Michigan:
Jack Hughes, Dylan Larkin, Connor Hellebuyck and Zach Werenski were all on the ice for the game-winning goal during the USA-Canada gold medal game.
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