2026 Winter Olympics Men's Hockey Results, Live Highlights and Analysis for USA vs. Latvia
Buckle up, ladies and gentlemen. It's "Miracle" time.
Team USA's quest for its first Olympic men's hockey gold since 1980 began against Latvia at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, with the B/R staff on hand to deliver live analysis and reaction.
We'll concede that it won't take miraculous intervention for the Americans to win it all in Italy, but the fact that the 2026 chase began on the 46th anniversary of Game 1 in Lake Placid gave us all the Al Michaels feels.
This year's U.S. roster includes NHL players for the first time since 2014, and the Americans are a sound dark-horse choice to top the medals stand, given the presence of Stanley Cup winners Jack Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk and Norris Trophy front-runners Zach Werenski and Quinn Hughes.
And that star power was on full display Thursday, as the USA routed underdogs Latvia, 5-1.
So what went down during the game?
Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought in the app comments.
Game Highlights From USA vs. Latvia
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GOAL! Rout is on as Matthews makes it 5-1 for the USA on the power play at 2:35 of the third period.
GOAL! USA 4, Latvia 1 as Nelson tallies again with a sick assist from Jack Hughes once again at 19:48 of the 2nd period.
GOAL! USA 3, Latvia 1, with Tage Thompson cashing in on the power play at 17:35 of the 2nd period.
GOAL! USA 2, Latvia 1 as Brock Nelson cashes in with a terrific move after a great setup from Jack Hughes at 10:38 of the 2nd period.
GOAL! Latvia 1, USA 1! The underdogs tie it after Renars Krastenbergs puts the puck past Connor Hellebuyck after a scramble in front of the net.
GOAL! USA 1, Latvia 0 as Brady Tkachuk opens the scoring with a rip at 5:29 of the first period.
USA team captain Auston Matthews is locked in ahead of the game.
Final Takeaways
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Attention: Team Denmark.
It's going to be a challenging Saturday.
Team USA dispensed with any Olympic-opening jitters with a 5-1 pasting of Latvia and looked like a legitimate threat to gold-medal favorite Canada in doing so.
"It's massive for their confidence, for their belief in each other," analyst T.J. Oshie said. "After this game, I can honestly say they made a statement. They showed everyone, 'We're here, we're for real.' Now it comes down to consistency."
Five players had two points apiece for the Americans, including fourth-line forwards Brock Nelson and Jack Hughes, along with defenseman Quinn Hughes and first-liners Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk.
They outshot Latvia, 23-9, in the final two periods while outscoring them 4-0.
"Overall," analyst Brian Boucher said, "I feel it was a very positive first game for the United States."
Reigning Vezina and Hart trophy winner Connor Hellebucyk made 17 saves.
The U.S. finished seventh in 2018 and fifth in 2022 at the two most recent Olympics, without NHL players. The Americans were fourth after losing a bronze-medal game to Finland in 2014 and haven't medaled since taking silver in 2010 in Vancouver.
They'll finish Group C pool play against Germany on Sunday. The three group winners and the top second-place team will automatically advance to the quarterfinals, while the remaining eight teams will compete for the four other quarterfinal positions.
Quarterfinal games will be played on Wednesday, followed by semifinals on Feb. 20, the bronze medal game on Feb. 21, and the gold medal game on Feb. 22, which just happens to be the 46th anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice" defeat of the Soviet Union.
"The Olympics is the peak of hockey," Jack Hughes said. "Just a great, great night, and we want to keep it going. That's step one for us."
Takeaways from the Second Period
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For the first 10 minutes, it was low-event hockey.
For the final 10 minutes, it was a shooting gallery.
Team USA took any needles-and-pins concern out of its opener with three goals on nine shots in the back half of the second to reach the final break with a 4-1 edge.
Nelson broke through after a frustrating first period to give the Americans the lead at 10:38 with a pretty forehand-to-backhand move, after he received a precise Jack Hughes feed from the right circle.
Power forward Tage Thompson made it a two-goal edge on a power play at 17:35, taking a pass from Eichel and beating Elvis Merzlikins with a backhander over the right shoulder at the left post.
Yet another came just 2:13 later, when Nelson got his second of the day upon finishing a highlight-reel passing sequence with just 11.1 seconds left.
"An absolute thing of beauty for the red, white and blue," analyst Ed Olczyk said.
Team USA outshot Latvia 17-2 over 20 minutes and won seven of 13 faceoffs.
Nelson, 34, who's the oldest player on the U.S. roster and is related to members of the gold-medal teams from 1960 and 1980, has combined with linemates Hughes and J.T. Miller for four points. Not bad for a fourth line, eh?
"We knew we'd get some good looks," he said.
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Takeaways from the First Period
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The first period ended all even at 1-1, but it'll be all about adversity and the ability to overcome it going forward, according to Brady Tkachuk.
The Ottawa Senators team captain scored the Americans' first goal of the tournament when he beat Merzlikins with a wrister from the slot at 5:29 of the period, but it was a frustrating final 14-plus minutes for the favorites, who had two goals disallowed by coach's challenges and hit both a goal post and a crossbar, too.
The U.S. held a 15-9 edge in shots and won 12 of 20 faceoffs.
"You've got to embrace everything that comes your way, good or bad," Tkachuk said. "It's down to the individual maturity we know we all have."
Tkachuk was assisted by his brother Matthew on his scoring play, continuing the family Olympic lineage established by their father, Keith, who represented the U.S. in the 1992, 1998, 2002, and 2006 Games.
In fact, Keith Tkachuk played in the last game between the Americans and the Latvians, which ended in a 3-3 tie in 2006.
"We're just so grateful to be here," Brady Tkachuk said. "It's a dream come true out there."
Scoring Challenged
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If you watched the first 12 minutes and thought to yourself, "This game could have been a U.S. blowout already," you're not wrong.
The prudent video-reviewing skills of Latvian coach Harijs Vītoliņš and his assistants kept the underdogs close, with two American goals overturned by Vītoliņš's challenges.
Quinn Hughes beat Merzlikins with a glove-side wrist shot at 6:59 of the first period, but his tally was scrubbed when replay determined that Nelson entered the zone offside. Then, four minutes after the Latvians tied the game at 1-1, Nelson had one taken away when his deflection goal was disallowed due to goalie interference by Miller.
Nelson was turned away again when his wrister from the slot hit the right post behind Merzilikins in the final two minutes of the period.
It's the third Winter Olympics in which coaches have been able to challenge goals, following the 2018 event in South Korea and the 2022 Games in China. The NHL adopted the rule in the 2015-16 season, and the International Ice Hockey Federation followed suit.
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