5 Takeaways From USA Men's Hockey Win Over Latvia at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Team USA opened play at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics with a 5-1 win over Latvia. It took two overturned goals and a bit of American grit, but once the USA found its groove, the dominance began.

It was the exact resilience, depth scoring, and discipline Team USA needed to feel true confidence as the competition keeps getting tougher. The Tkachuks had a huge influence on the game despite stricter rules around fighting and penalties. Connor Hellebuyck was pretty convincing in net, and depth scorers like Brock Nelson and Jack Hughes made some statements.

Here are some quick takeaways from the USA's opening win over Latvia at the 2026 Olympics.

Tkachuk Brothers Set the Tone

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Team USA is in many ways an extension of the 4 Nations Face-Off team that fell just short of gold in overtime last year. That means an emphasis on defense and a lot of Tkachuk.

The 4 Nations rules vs. the rules of the IIHF are different, though: There's no fighting when it comes to the IIHF. That means no scheming or cheeky upper hand for a USA team built on grit.

It was incredibly important that the Tkachuk brothers set the tone early on, connecting on a slick Matthew assist as Brady found the back of the net.

Team USA has been criticized for prioritizing grit over goal-scoring. The Tkachuk brothers' opening goal shows they're serious about channeling that fiery energy into winning under a stricter set of rules.

Nelson and Jack Hughes Make Critics Eat Their Words

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Brock Nelson and Jack Hughes

Yes, Team USA was the heavy favorite against Latvia. Yes, heavy hitters such as the Tkachuk brothers and Auston Matthews showed up. But this game was also an opportunity for some depth players to show they belong in the lineup, and several rose to the occasion.

Brock Nelson might have been the best player of the entire game, with impact plays, high danger chances and actual points galore. He ended the night with two goals, one would-be goal overturned due to a close offside call and plenty of respect.

Jack Hughes was silent during the 4 Nations Face-Off, and he's had a rough NHL season after an off-ice injury derailed him. He had a strong performance to open the Olympics, with two assists and some crucial plays to keep the puck in the zone.

NHL Players Will Need to Adjust to IIHF Rules

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USA-Latvia wasn't necessarily about the scoreboard. Instead, it was about Team USA testing the waters of what it could get away with later on in the competition.

The IIHF was very strict, overturning two goals: one for offside and one for goaltender interference. Both situations could have gone either way. The offside call looked murky, while the goaltender-interference decision on JT Miller that overturned his goal would have been weak when it comes to NHL standards.

But this isn't the NHL, and we know the IIHF is stringent in its rules. This team has to assume that any ambiguous calls won't work out in its favor. The USA has to be crisper as the competition increases, and now we've seen exactly how it'll play out if the play isn't cleaned up.

International Hockey is at Another Level

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Jack Eichel and Teddy Blugers

The preliminary rounds have shown us some unexpectedly close games: At one point, Latvia and the USA were tied at one with the European side banging on the door; Sweden was close to losing to an Italy team with zero NHL players; Denmark and Germany gave us a heck of a game in general.

This isn't the international hockey the NHL guns used to breeze through in preliminary rounds. Every team has made these games interesting so far, and some were a few plays away from turning the momentum into a goal and perhaps a win.

The one situation this doesn't apply to was Canada's 5-0 win over Czechia on Thursday. Team Canada showed it is the team to beat, and nothing drove that home more than Nathan MacKinnon's power-play tap-in to make it 4-0.

This is a huge win for the sport, but Canada's dominance, even in the face of international hockey improvement, should scare Team USA.

The USA is Going to Be a Tough Out

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This was one of the heaviest favorites in men's USA team history for a reason: The defensive core is the best of any Olympic team by a mile, and it has even improved since 4 Nations.

Now, the USA has Quinn Hughes (two assists) and a healthy Charlie McAvoy (waiting to be fully unleashed) to work with on top of the already established 4 Nations pairings.

Then we've got the goalies: Coach Mike Sullivan decided to run with Connor Hellebuyck tonight, and he delivered. That's a scary prospect when you consider that Team USA's goaltending depth includes Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman, in addition to Hellebuyck. There are a ridiculous number of options, and absolutely none are an easy out.