The win gives the U.S. a near-perfect record of 2-1-0-0, good enough for first place in Group A and a bye to the quarter-finals which begin on Wednesday.

"We have to keep improving," Kessel said. "It's now down to a single elimination."

"That was our goal, to get the bye, and now that we've done that, the real fun starts," said James vn Riemsdyk.

Ryan Miller was in goal for the Americans, playing for the first time in the Olympics since the gold-medal game in 2010. "I definitely had some nerves," he admitted. "This was an important game to ensure we're in the top of our pool. It was fun to get in the game and compete with the boys."

"We knew they had a good game yesterday. They have a lot of players who know each other and have good chemistry, so when we went up 2-0 early, it was obviously a good thing," said U.S. forward Patrick Kane.

Kessel entered the Olympic break as one of the hottest players in the NHL, scoring eleven goals and 27 points in the last 15 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He now leads the Olympics with four goals and seven points in three games.

Kessel’s first shift was memorable. He collected the puck at centre ice, made a sensational outside-in move on defenceman Mitja Robar and then beat goalie Luka Gracnar with a sneaky shot to the far side just 1:04 into the game.

Three and a half minutes later, Kessel was at it again. Joe Pavelski got to a shoot-in first and made a quick pass into the slot. Kessel batted the puck out of the air and into the goal to give the U.S. lead.