Winter Olympics 2022: Hilary Knight, Nicole Hensley team up in leading US to 5-0 win over ROC

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Goalie Nicole Hensley was fine with the United States having difficulty finding its offense through two periods before finally pulling away with a 5-0 win over the Russians on Saturday night.

So long as Hensley kept stopping every shot, the outcome wasn’t in jeopardy for the defending Olympic champions.

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United States' Hilary Knight (21) is congratulated after scoring a goal against Russian Olympic Committee during a preliminary round women's hockey game at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

"They made it a really hard game, really frustrating for us," said Hensley, who stopped 12 shots in her 2022 tournament debut at the Beijing Games.

"And I think for us, a little adversity is not a bad thing in a tournament like this to have to get through that," she added. "If anything, it’s just going to bring us closer together."

The U.S. (2-0) next plays Switzerland (0-2) on Sunday.

Hilary Knight had a goal and assist, with her no-look backhand pass through the crease setting up Savannah Harmon’s opening goal in the first period. Knight then scored in the second to give her team some breathing room, before the Americans broke things open with three goals in a five-minute span in the third.

Harmon had a goal and two assists, and Grace Zumwinkle, Jesse Compher and Alex Carpenter scored in a game played before a small but vocally pro-Russian crowd.

The U.S. outshot the Russians 62-12 but had difficulty finishing with top-line center Brianna Decker watching on crutches after breaking her ankle in a tournament-opening win over Finland.

Maria Sorokina was exceptional in