TORONTO — Members of Team USA gathered for a few drinks after they were eliminated from the World Cup of Hockey.

There was a lot to discuss.

The United States was surprised by Team Europe and wasn’t good enough against Canada, leading to two losses and a cascade of questions. John Tortorella as coach? Too much grit? Not enough skill? What might change after another all-too-familiar early exit from an international tournament? The pipeline of young talent for next time around?

A few days isn’t enough time to answer all those questions, especially for players whose job was to play a certain style of hockey – not put together a roster or pick the coaching staff.

“I liked our team,” winger Zach Parise said Wednesday. “I thought we played hard. It’s not a player’s job to speculate who should or shouldn’t be on the team before or after the tournament.”

Phil Kessel took his shot. Left off the team along with scoring forwards Kyle Okposo and Tyler Johnson and defensemen Justin Faulk, Kevin Shattenkirk and Cam Fowler, the Stanley Cup-winning Pittsburgh Penguins winger tweeted after the U.S. loss: “Just sitting around the house tonight (with) my dog. Felt like I should be doing something important, but couldn’t put my finger on it.”

U.S. management went with a sandpaper style of play that almost resulted in a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics but hasn’t worked since. Center David Backes said he believes that style of hockey can still win if executed correctly.

The 0-2 start revealed the Americans brought too much physicality to a skill game. Canada, Russia, Team North America and others have thrived with fast-paced, entertaining hockey. Speed has been king at this international tournament, but Backes noted that the Americans “weren’t going to out-skill Canada.” With the aim of beating Canada, U.S. General Manager Dean Lombardi instead built a big team with an edge in hopes of neutralizing the talent of the top hockey power in the world.

Instead, the World Cup showed that depth of talent is everything. Leaving more skilled players at home was too much to overcome.

WEDNESDAY’S GAME

NORTH AMERICA 4, SWEDEN 3: Henrik Lundqvist made 45 saves and Sweden wrapped up the top seed in Group B and a spot in the semifinals by reaching overtime in a loss to Team North America.