On Tuesday in Sochi, Team USA's coach again put that on display:

"I don't think I would just want one great goalie to make the decision easier," Bylsma told reporters at the Ice Dome. "We left some very good goalies at home with the three we selected. I think it makes it a great decision because I think whether you go with (Jimmy Howard), (Ryan Miller) or (Jonathan Quick), you are going to have a great goalie in net."

See? He's not even taking Howard out of the mix, despite the fact that every other bit of speculation has centered on Miller and Quick. The former has been good all season for a garbage Buffalo Sabres team, and Quick came back strong from a groin injury in early January; in that span of time, Quick has a .920 save percentage to Miller's .911. On the season, Miller holds a .923 to .911 edge.

"We've seen all our goalies play really well, and we've seen Ryan play the whole year and do very, very well on a team that's struggling," Bylsma said. "And Jonathan’s got a track record, and he’s come back in the last month and he played well as well.”

So sure, if you want to read between the lines, it might sound like he's leaning toward Miller. And maybe he is. But he's not going to say.

Let's just let the Twitter accounts fight this one out.

"Bylsma, Americans face vexing decision in goal (we think it's pretty obvious) READ: http://t.co/j36HRFuj0y" — LA Kings (@LAKings)

"@LAKings So do we." — Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres)

In more tangible news, Bylsma shook up his lines on Tuesday. This is what he rolled out there

James Van Riemsdyk, Joe Pavelski, Phil Kessel

Zach Parise, David Backes, Ryan Callahan

Max Pacioretty, Ryan Kesler, Patrick Kane

Dustin Brown, Paul Statsny, TJ Oshie

That looks a lot better. JVR-Pavelski-Kessel is unchanged, which is good. Pacioretty is a better fit with Kesler and Kane than Brown, and Parise-for-Oshie makes a ton of sense, too.


STATE OF THE SPORT


Rene Fasel is on a mission to keep hockey in the Olympics as compelling and competitive as possible, and it's going to be a tougher task for the president of the International Ice Hockey Federation in the next four years.

The NHL and the players' union have not committed to the next Olympics, in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018.

"I'm going to work hard and do the best I can to get the NHL and NHL players in Pyeongchang," Fasel said Tuesday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I will do everything I can — seven days a week — until a decision is made.

"But ultimately, that decision will be made by them."

By "them," of course, he means NHL owners and its players.

Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider doesn't like freezing the league for two weeks or so in the middle of the season — when the NFL is idle and the NCAA tournament is a month away — and risking injury to his players without a tangible return.

"It's ridiculous," Snider said last week. "There's no benefit to us whatsoever."

NHL players, however, might be universally in favor of having a chance every four years to play for their country, and to mingle with Olympians from around the world.

"To take that away would be unfortunate," U.S. captain Zach Parise said. "From my standpoint, I love playing here."

The NHL doesn't seem to mind as much when the Olympics are in North America — as they were in 2010 and 2002 — but it's less tolerant to do it when the games are overseas as they were in 1998, 2006 and this year.


SEASONED SKATERS


Teemu Selanne can only chuckle when he realizes his two linemates had yet to be born the first time he played hockey at the Olympics.

That's what happens when somebody travels as far beyond the normal endpoints of a hockey career as has Selanne, who is heading into his record-tying sixth Olympics in Sochi.

Yet the 43-year-old "Finnish Flash" has no qualms about the generation gap while he skates at the Bolshoy Ice Dome alongside 21-year-old Mikael Granlund and 18-year-old Alexander Barkov, the youngest player in Sochi.

"Maybe that's because mentally, we are the same age," Selanne said.

Selanne isn't the only old-timer in Sochi hoping for one last trip to the medal stand. The Olympic field is dotted with famous names who are temporarily turning back time.

There's Jaromir Jagr, who will turn 42 when the Czech Republic plays Switzerland on Saturday, and his 42-year-old teammate Petr Nedved, who is back at the games after an Olympic-record 20-year absence — playing for a different nation, to boot.

Finland's Kimmo Timonen will turn 39 next month, joining fellow defenseman Sami Salo. Austria defenseman Gerhard Unterluggauer is a spring chicken of 37, but has 239 games of international experience.

Latvia has 41-year-old Sandis Ozolinsh in its defense again, and Sweden is counting on strong play from 41-year-old Daniel Alfredsson, who speaks for most of his fellow veterans when he emphasizes the importance of enjoying this moment.

"I definitely thought, after the last Olympics, that that would be it," Alfredsson said. "It definitely feels great to be part of another one. It's a special experience. Even just being in the Olympic dining area and sitting where everyone sits and looking at people from around the world, I'm going to remember that."

None of them has been around as long as Selanne, who first skated for Finland at the Albertville Games in 1992. When Finland begins play in Sochi on Thursday, he'll match the record six Olympic games of fellow Finn Raimo Helminen.

Contributors: Sean Gentille, The Associated Press