2026 Winter Olympics Men's Hockey Results, Live Highlights and Analysis for USA vs. Slovakia
The U.S. men's hockey team will play for a gold medal.
The Americans cleared their semifinal hurdle against Slovakia on Friday, winning 6-2 to earn a podium spot against Canada on Sunday morning.
It's the first time Team USA will play for gold since losing to Canada in 2010. The U.S. hasn't won gold in men's hockey since the "Miracle on Ice" in 1980.
Canada, which last won gold in 2014, reached this year's final after rallying from two goals down to defeat Finland, 3-2.
B/R's hockey team was in position to take in all the action at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and deliver live highlights and analysis. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought of your own in the app comments.
Final Takeaways
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U.S. Gets a Third Chance at Gold
Maybe, just maybe, the third time will be the charm.
The U.S. will get its third crack at a first gold medal since 1980 on Sunday, when it'll face Team Canada on the 46th anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice" against the Soviet Union.
Team USA lost to Canada in the gold-medal game in both 2002 and 2010, then lost a semifinal to the Canadians in 2014 and ultimately finished fourth in the tournament.
None of the current U.S. players participated in those games, but many were on the roster last year when Canada beat the Americans to win the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament on an OT goal by Connor McDavid.
Regardless of event, it's not just another game.
"There's nothing like it for an American-born player to take on the best from Team Canada," said analyst Ed Olczyk, an Olympian with Team USA in 1984. "On any level."
Lower Workload an American Advantage?
The 5-0 lead the Americans carried into the third period against Slovakia allowed coach Mike Sullivan to roll through all his lines across the final 20 minutes, which could yield a Sunday advantage.
Team USA went to overtime to beat Sweden on Wednesday but had a multi-goal lead against Slovakia from the moment Tage Thompson scored at 19:20 of the first.
By contrast, Canada had to go OT to beat Czechia on Wednesday, then trailed 2-0 against Finland earlier Friday before rallying to score the game-winner in the final minute of regulation.
Those victories didn't come without a cost, prompting coach Jon Cooper to play defenseman Cale Makar for more than 50 minutes across the two games, while forwards McDavid and Macklin Celebrini each logged well beyond 40.
Also, Canadian captain Sidney Crosby's status is unclear after he missed Friday's game with a lower-body injury.
"It's gonna take a full team effort," U.S. captain Auston Matthews said. "We got contributions from all four lines, from any number of different guys. We've got all the belief in the world in our room and in these guys, and we're going to bring our A game."
Game Highlights vs. Slovakia
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Third Period
GOAL! Slovakia gets another back as Pavol Regenda scores his third of the tournament.
GOAL! Brady Tkachuk scores the USA's sixth goal on a breakaway.
GOAL! Slovakia gets on the board after a goal from Juraj Slafkovský at 4:55 of the third period.
Second Period
ANOTHER GOAL! Jack Hughes tallies his second at 18:24 to make it 5-0.
GOAL! The rout is on as Eichel tallies 19 seconds after Hughes.
GOAL! Jack Hughes strikes at 12:14 of the second period.
First Period
Here's another angle of Thompson's goal from ice level.
2-0 USA! Tage Thompson strikes on the power play at 19:19 of the period.
Goal for the USA! Dylan Larkin with a snipe gives the Americans the lead at 4:19 of the first period.
Pregame
Lines for the semifinals
Tage Thompson Out of the Game
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Buffalo Sabres fans were no doubt nervous after the announcement that forward Tage Thompson would not play in the third period for precautionary reasons.
The 6'6", 220-pounder, a right-handed shooting center, had two goals through the first four games and added a third late in Friday's first period that made it 2-0.
Two of those goals came on the power play—where five of his 30 in the NHL have come so far in 2025-26.
His exit provided some third-period ice time for Clayton Keller, who'd seen just one shift through the first two periods.
If Thompson is unavailable on Sunday, it could mean the reappearance of Kyle Connor, who played in the tournament opener before three straight scratches.
"If (Thompson is) not available, it really changes the way the power play works," Olczyk said. "He's one of the big reasons it's been so successful. Your options are massive in a positive way when he's in the lineup."
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Takeaways from the Second Period
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Slovak Goalie Not Happy with Exit
Samuel Hlavaj made 19 saves on 23 shots before he was pulled in favor of Stanislav Skorvanek with seven-plus minutes remaining in the second period, and he was not happy about it.
The 24-year-old gestured toward the bench with upraised palms when coach Vladimir Országh made the call, then threw a glove and punched the glass upon reaching the bench.
The .826 save percentage was hardly the stuff of legend, but Hlavaj did make several saves that kept Slovakia close before the U.S. scored twice in 19 seconds just past the period's midway point.
Jack Hughes beat him with a wrister from the slot after stepping around former New Jersey Devils teammate Tomas Tatar at 12:14, then Jack Eichel took a feed from Matthew Tkachuk after a Slovakian turnover behind the net and scored at 12:33.
"You can't blame him, really," analyst Brian Boucher said. "I think (Országh) was just looking for a spark, not putting it on him."
Two Shots of Jack (Hughes)
Jack Hughes added a second Friday goal on the Americans' second shot on Skorvanek, corralling a shot from Matt Boldy that caromed off the end boards and snapping it inside the left post at 18:24.
He had three goals and three assists through four-plus games as a fourth-line forward and began drawing comparisons to the consensus choice as the best American forward ever, Patrick Kane.
Hughes, the NHL's No. 1 overall pick in 2019, was on the U.S. team at last year's 4 Nations Face-Off, won silver at the World Junior Championship in 2019, and picked up silver and bronze at world under-18 events in 2018 and 2019.
"I'm just so pumped to be here and to be at the Olympics and playing for the U.S.," Hughes told The Athletic. "If it's fourth line, whatever it may be, I'm ready to play that role. And when you tap my shoulder, I'm gonna be ready to go."
"Johnny Hockey" Still an Inspiration
Johnny Gaudreau is still an important Team USA presence.
The seven-time NHL All-Star was struck and killed by an alleged drunk driver in 2024, but his No. 13 jersey hangs in the Americans' locker room, and members of his family—including his wife and father—arrived to join the team for medal-round games in Milan.
Gaudreau represented the U.S. in six international events and would have been strongly considered for the 2026 Olympic team.
He played parts of nine NHL seasons with Calgary before signing with Columbus and playing two seasons alongside Zach Werenski, and the two became friends.
"It's incredible to have his family here. Johnny would have been on this team," Werenski said. Hopefully, it gives our group some energy. We are all excited to play for Johnny."
Takeaways from the First Period
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Quick U.S. Start Leaves Slovakians Shaken
If 20 minutes are indicative, it'll be an early Sunday for U.S. hockey fans.
The Americans carried the play territorially, imposed their will physically, and created constant havoc in front of a beleaguered Hlavaj, an undrafted free agent who's put up pedestrian numbers while splitting 2025-26 time between the AHL and ECHL.
The Slovaks committed five turnovers and allowed the game's first goal in the opening five minutes, prompting Boucher to suggest jitters were affecting them.
"They look nervous," he said, "overmatched a little."
Moments later, Brady Tkachuk instigated a net-front scrum when he took a few whacks at the goalie at the whistle.
"(Tkachuk) wants to make sure (Hlavaj) knows that what he's seen in the prior games in this tournament," Boucher said, "is not what he's going to see here."
Special Teams Providing an Advantage
Hlavaj's life wasn't made any easier by his team's foundering power play, which got two opportunities in the opening period but didn't manage a shot on either.
In fact, the best chances came in the other direction for the U.S., which got one shot in each short-handed situation.
Slovakia had been 3-for-13 with a man-advantage entering the game while the Americans maintained a pristine penalty kill, now 12-for-12 across four-plus games.
Team USA's power play got on the board late when Thompson scored with help from Eichel and Quinn Hughes while Slovakia's Milos Kelemen was serving a tripping penalty.
It was the Americans' fourth power-play goal in 10 tries in the tournament.
Larkin Triggers Another Early Impact
Forward Dylan Larkin made it two straight game-opening goals when he took an outlet pass from Werenski, skated in on Hlavaj, and beat him to the blocker side on Team USA's first shot at 4:19.
He was later denied by Hlavaj on a one-timer on Slovakia's first power play.
"We've been talking about (quick starts) since the start of the tournament," Larkin said. "We've been getting better at it."
The 29-year-old had two points through four games while averaging better than 14 minutes of ice time and winning 83.3 percent of his faceoffs.
"I have absolutely loved his game," analyst T.J. Oshie said. "I thought against Sweden he was one of the best forwards on the ice."
Familiar Hurdles Blocking U.S. Path to Gold
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To win a third gold medal in program history and first with NHL players, Team USA will need to clear as-yet-insurmountable hurdles in the final two rounds.
Three medal-round duels with Canada in 2002, 2010 and 2014, respectively—the first two in gold-medal games and the latter in the semifinals—yielded three losses by a combined 9-4 score.
No NHL-rostered U.S. team had met Slovakia in a medal-round game prior to Friday, though the Slovaks did beat the non-NHL Americans in the 2022 quarterfinals, sending them to a fifth-place finish.
Team USA has won two medals, both silver, since its last gold in 1980 in Lake Placid.
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