The USA’s men’s ice hockey team had a lot of expectations coming into the Olympics. After winning gold at the 2025 IIHF World Championship and silver in the Four Nations Face-off against Canada, Milan is the perfect stage for them to show their might.
They did in their first game in preliminaries, blowing out Team Latvia 5-1. It didn’t look convincing at first, though. Ottawa Senators winger Brady Tkachuk started the scoring at 5:29 in the first, but Latvia’s Renars Krastenbergs knocked one in to tie it 1-1.
In the second period, the USA completely took over. Colorado Avalanche forward Brock Nelson scored an insane goal at 10:38, Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson knocked one in on the power play at 17:35, and then Nelson scored again at 19:48 in the second to make it 4-1. The third period saw Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews pot in a goal to reach the final score of 5-1.
Team USA Is a Contender for Gold
If there was any doubt that Team USA would compete for the gold medal, it was quickly vanquished in this game. They thoroughly dominated this game, and even the final score doesn’t show how in sync they were.
Related Link: Guide to the 2026 Winter Olympics Men’s Hockey Tournament
The scariest thing about this team was how well they played as a unit. It was shown on Nelson’s second goal of the game. There were an insane five passes completed on that goal between Jack Hughes, Matthew Tkachuk, and Nelson too.
The fourth line was absolutely dominant in this game, and Team USA looks like they’re complete on all four lines.
Brotherly Contest
Team USA has a lot of chemistry on the roster, and that might be due to the fact they have two sets of brothers on the roster. The Tkachuk brothers and Hughes brothers will both play integral parts in winning the gold medal for Team USA.
This game proved how important all of them are. Brady and Matthew Tkachuk each had a point in this game, with Brady even scoring a goal. Meanwhile, Quinn and Jack Hughes each contributed to the point sheet. They both had two assists against Latvia.
The two sets of brothers obviously made Team USA look like they had massive chemistry on the team, and they couldn’t be stopped because of it.
The USA showing dominance on the fourth line could put some pressure on Mike Sullivan to change the lineup a bit. Nelson’s line was really good, scoring two goals altogether, and they could’ve had more if not for a Quinn Hughes goal assisted by J.T. Miller that was disallowed. Miller was also the net-front presence on another goal that was disallowed due to goaltender interference.
Does that mean Sullivan gives third-generation Olympian Nelson a promotion? Maybe Jack Hughes or Miller? There will be plenty of time to change the lineup, but it’s a good problem to have.
Schedule
The USA men’s ice hockey team will play Denmark on Feb. 14 and Germany on Feb. 15 to finish off the preliminary round for the Olympics. They currently lead Group C (Denmark, Latvia, Germany) and if that continues, they could be one of the teams that gets a first-round bye in the playoff, which starts on Feb. 17.
