Although the US squad is considered a dark horse, one of the Stars and Stripes’s strengths - one that could be a difference-maker in a short tournament - is between the pipes. Tim Thomas and Ryan Miller should be two of the three masked men that Team USA calls to Vancouver, and either could get hot enough to give the Yanks an opportunity to medal.

But as much as Thomas would be honored - first to make the roster, second to get the starting nod - the Olympic possibility isn’t one he’s actively tracking, especially when it comes to monitoring his would-be competitors.

“You break it down like that, it would drive you crazy,’’ said Thomas when asked if he keeps tabs on Miller and Colorado’s Craig Anderson, who are making bids for Olympic invites. “Plus, it’s Nov. 7. A lot happens from now.’’

Anderson, a former Bruins property, is the primary reason why Colorado entered last night as the top-ranked team in the NHL (26 points, 2 more than Pittsburgh and San Jose, who met late last night). The 28-year-old native of Park Ridge, Ill., is 11-3-2 with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage.

For the first time in his career, Anderson has been tapped to be the go-to goalie for his club (he backed up Tomas Vokoun in Florida the last two seasons), and he has responded by turning the revamped Avalanche into the surprise story of the NHL.

Anderson’s start has propelled him into the Olympic discussion and most likely vaulted him past Los Angeles’s Jonathan Quick, who attended the US orientation camp along with Thomas and Miller over the summer.

But when you place Anderson’s pedigree against those of his competitors, it’s a good bet that the US brain trust, led by Toronto general manager Brian Burke, will consider the Boston and Buffalo netminders, both Michigan natives (Thomas hails from Flint, Miller from East Lansing), for the starting job, even though both got a break last night.

Thomas is the defending Vezina Trophy winner. He has allowed four goals in his last three starts. He has participated in six World Championships, most recently in 2008, when he went 2-1-0 with one shutout before suffering a knee injury that cut his tournament short.

Miller, 28, went through a so-so 2008-09, the first season of his five-year, $31.25 million contract ($6.25 million annual cap hit). In 59 appearances last season, Miller went 34-18-6 with a 2.53 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

This season, however, Miller has been one of the NHL’s elite goalies. In 12 starts, he has gone 9-2-1 with a 1.89 GAA and a .936 save percentage. As the Avalanche have done with Anderson, the Sabres have committed to giving the 6-foot-2-inch, 175-pound Miller the majority of the starts. He has responded by giving his employer everything it’s desired.

“I watch the way he plays,’’ said Myers. “We have similar body types, so I want to see how he uses that to his advantage. We both have long sticks, so I want to continue to use that effectively. He’s definitely a guy I like to watch to learn from.’’

Myers, the 12th overall pick in the 2008 draft, has been one of the NHL’s sharpest rookies this season. Myers, a former junior teammate of Toronto defenseman Luke Schenn in Kelowna, was eligible to return for a final WHL season. But he was good enough to survive his 10-game NHL audition. Buffalo would have had to return him to Kelowna before then if it didn’t want to burn one season of big-league service time.

Through 14 games, Myers has three goals and five assists and had averaged 20:48 of ice time per game, second-most among NHL rookies to Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman (24:00). Myers picked up the assist on Pominville’s power-play goal.

Byron Bitz, out the last three games because of a groin injury, was back in the lineup. Bitz skated with usual linemates Shawn Thornton and Steve Begin, scoring a goal in 12:58 of ice time. “I thought this was probably Bitzy’s best game of the year tonight,’’ said coach Claude Julien. “He was really good. Not because he scored a goal, but because he was so strong on the puck and along the boards. They couldn’t take it off him, and he used his size and strength to his advantage. He really played a good game, so when you add a guy to a line like that, he’s going to have an impact and make that line much better.’’ . . . Thornton, who hadn’t dropped the gloves since Oct. 24 against Ottawa’s Matt Carkner, threw them down twice last night. With the Sabres trailing 1-0 in the first, Steve Montador asked Thornton to fight. Thornton obliged and got the better of Montador. In the third, Thornton stood up to Paul Gaustad, who had taken out Bitz. “I think Gaustad came out of position to try and make a run at somebody,’’ Thornton said. “Obviously I don’t like that happening when I’m out there. So I felt that needed to be addressed, so I went over and addressed it.’’ . . . Montador, brought to Boston at last year’s trade deadline from Anaheim for Petteri Nokelainen, had a regular stream of Black-and-Gold visitors saying hello before the game. Despite his short stay in Boston, Montador quickly became popular in the dressing room. On July 1, Montador signed a two-year, $3.1 million contract with Buffalo. Those pleasantries were apparently left in the locker room . . . Team psychiatrist Frank Lodato, who resides in Florida, has been in town this week. “He’s already scheduled before the season starts, so we could have been going well and he would have been here. He’s not here for the players. He’s here for the coaching staff,’’ Julien said with a smile.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.