VANCOUVER, British Columbia - At this point, it's more superstition than anything. On the eve of their Olympic hockey games, the Americans like to have a team dinner at Dario's La Piazza Ristorante in Vancouver's Italian district.

The players all sit in the same seats every time, because at this point, Team USA isn't changing a thing. The players are so adamant about not switching dinner locations that the team ate at 4:30 p.m. Vancouver time on Saturday because another party booked the entire restaurant for a 50th anniversary celebration during typical dinner hours.

It was a couple hours earlier than normal, but it beat finding another good-luck eatery.

It's at these team-bonding dinners that David Backes has really gotten to know starting goalie Ryan Miller. They sit across from each other and Backes has found the conversation fascinating. Miller is on the NHL's competition committee, so Backes has enjoyed listening to his theories on improving the game.

"He's a very personable guy. He's not crazy with a 24-hour (no-talk) rule before the game or anything," Backes said. "We get to kick around a few ideas and learn from each other and (learn) how calm and collected he is."

Not crazy. Calm. Collected. That's high praise for a goalie, because as defenseman Tim Gleason knows, they are a different breed.

"They're strange people," Gleason said.

But on the morning of the biggest game of Miller's life, the casual dinner conversation will be long past. Miller's teammates have found him to be one of the most focused, intense competitors they have ever seen.

As game time approaches, he sits at his locker room stall and doesn't say a word. And it's probably best if he's left alone.

"I just don't touch him and just kind of let him do whatever he does," Gleason said. "He does the goalie thing, whatever that may be."

Bobby Ryan's dressing room stall is directly across from Miller's and he sees the transformation from light-hearted jokes to complete focus take place before each game.

"You can see him hone in. You can see the transition within seconds," Ryan said. "He's a pretty impressive individual, how he does it. It's tough to come out and play so well in this atmosphere. I'm going to guess that he doesn't even hear the fans tomorrow."

And that helps explain some of Team USA's success. The Americans have been the enemy in Vancouver ever since their arrival, and there's no doubt Sunday's crowd will be as intimidating as any a hockey team has ever faced.

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But if those fans — or even players from Team Canada — expect to crack Miller, they could be in for a major disappointment. In a tournament full of goaltending stars like Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo, Henrik Lundqvist, Evgeni Nabokov and Miikka Kiprusoff, Miller has stood out. Way out.

He's 5-0 with a 1.04 goals-against average. His save percentage is .954 and he'd probably have two shutouts if he hadn't been pulled in the third period of the Finland rout.

"He's been the best goalie here by far," forward Zach Parise said. "Even before this, he was the best goalie in the NHL coming in. I can't say I'm overly surprised, but he's picked it up another level since he's gotten here. There's no secret, he's outplaying all the other guys."

Miller already outshined one Canadian goaltender — Brodeur — in this tournament. If he can do it again, it will earn his team a gold medal.

Realizing this, the Canadians have prepared a game plan to beat the American goalie. Following Canada's win over Slovakia, Mike Babcock issued this warning: "We were too easy on Miller last time," he said. "We won't be this time."

He expanded on that thought on Saturday. The plan of attack includes more bodies in front of him. More tipped shots.

"We have to get more second chances," Babcock said. "We didn't have enough hard chances against him."

It's about making life as uncomfortable as possible for the opposing goalie. Sometimes the world's biggest stage is enough to take care of that, but on the day before the gold medal game, Miller revealed no sign of anxiety. If nerves were creeping in, he wasn't showing it.

"It's a big game, but it doesn't change the way we play. It's a hockey game, it's ice, it's a puck. It's the kind of stuff we've done for years," Miller said. "I just feel really comfortable that things are going to work out the way they're supposed to work out."

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