Winter Olympics 2026: Team USA demolishes Slovakia, setting up epic showdown vs. Canada in gold-medal game
MILAN — There’s no need for any further debate over whether the U.S or Canada brought a stronger roster to Milan.
The North American hockey superpowers will finally settle it on the ice.
Hours after the Canadians rallied from a two-goal deficit against Finland to advance to Sunday’s Olympic gold-medal match, the Americans responded with a far less stressful semifinal victory. Jack Hughes netted a pair of goals and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck turned away all but two shots he faced as the Americans overwhelmed Slovakia 6-2 in the second of Friday night’s two semifinals.
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The U.S. is seeking its first Olympic gold in men’s hockey since the famed 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team engineered one of the most stunning upsets in sports history. The Americans have played in two gold-medal matches since then, suffering losses to nine-time Olympic champion Canada at the Vancouver Games in 2010 and the Salt Lake City Games in 2002.
While Canada has historically had the upper hand in the rivalry, the Americans arrived in Milan with the strongest roster they’ve ever brought to an Olympics and the belief that it is at last their time again. The U.S. can’t match Canada’s array of top-tier attacking talent, but the Americans have a three-time Vezina Trophy winner in goal and some of the NHL’s top defensemen.
“You want to go through the best and right now that’s them,” U.S. defender Quinn Hughes said. “If we played them in a best-of-seven, it would probably go seven. On Sunday, it’s just going to be whoever is better on that day.”
The rivalry between the U.S. and Canada went from a simmer to a full boil at this time last year when the North American neighbors met twice at the 4 Nations Face-Off. There were three fights in the opening nine seconds of a 3-1 U.S. win in round-robin play as Brady and Matthew Tkachuk and JT Miller sought to set a physical tone and send a message that the U.S. would not back down or be intimidated.
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Connor McDavid helped Canada secure revenge in the 4 Nations final. His overtime goal was the difference in a hard-fought 3-2 Canada win.
When asked what it will take to flip that result, American forward Dylan Larkin said, “It’s going to take that one performance, that one guy to step up, to have the game of his life.”
“It’s going to be a battle for the ages,” Larkin added.
Before they.could shift their focus to Canada, the Americans first had to handle their business against underdog Slovakia.
In many ways, Slovakia was a favorable semifinal draw for the U.S. The Slovaks have a total of seven NHL players on their Olympic roster. The Americans had the luxury of not dressing a forward who has been named to two of the last three NHL all-star games and a defenseman who is the highest-paid player in Anaheim Ducks history.
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And yet U.S. players were adamant before Friday’s game that Slovakia was not a team they could afford to overlook. Buoyed by a trio of young, hungry stars, a well-organized system and unmatched cohesiveness and chemistry, the Slovaks entered the semifinals as these Olympics’ most pleasant surprise.
It started in the prelims when Slovakia won a group that included Sweden and Finland to earn a bye to the quarterfinals. Then the Slovaks earned their place in the semifinals by skating circles around a German team with high expectations and more high-end talent.
Asked earlier this week if he was surprised Slovakia had advanced to the semifinals, American forward Brady Tkachuk said, “No, they’ve had a great tournament. They have great players. It’s going to be a really difficult game.”
Echoing that, Quinn Hughes said, “It’s going to be an extremely hard test. They’ve been rolling.”
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Turns out Slovakia wasn’t so threatening. The Americans seized control soon after the puck dropped.
The U.S. opened the scoring barely four minutes into the game by catching Slovakia making an ill-timed line change. Defenseman Zach Werenski fed a streaking Dylan Larkin as he charged through the neutral zone right down the middle of the ice. Larkin fired a blast from just inside the left faceoff circle, beating goaltender Samuel Hlavaj stickside.
The Americans doubled their lead just seconds into a power play late in the opening period. Tage Thompson’s screaming one-timer from the bottom of the left face-off circle glanced off the right shoulder of Hlavaj and caromed into the net.
It stayed 2-0 until more than halfway into the second period. Then Hughes and Jack Eichel struck within 19 seconds of one-another and Hughes added a second goal not long after that. After that, it was just a matter of the Americans getting through the rest of the game healthy so that they could begin looking ahead to Canada.
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After that, it became more difficult for the Americans to focus on Slovakia with Sunday’s showdown against Canada looming. Hellebuyck, who stopped every shot he faced in the opening two periods, allowed Slovakia to get a pair of third-period shots past him.
“Tonight I got a little bored in there and it cost me a goal,” Hellebuyck admitted.
Boredom won’t be an issue Sunday, not against the likes of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini.
It’s U.S.-Canada for Olympic gold. The stakes could not be higher.
“This is the pinnacle of the sport,” Matthew Tkachuk said. “This is as good as it gets.”
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Here’s how USA vs. Slovakia unfolded in real time:
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Chris Cwik
For the first time since 2010, Team USA is moving on to the gold-medal game. The Americans secured their spot in the final with a dominant 6-2 win over Slovakia in the semis.
With the win, Team USA will meet its rival Canada. The two met in the gold-medal game back in 2010, with Canada coming out on top. This time around, the U.S. will be looking for revenge.
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Chris Cwik
With the U.S. up 6-2, things got chippy at the end of the third period. Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk and Erik Cernak got into it, with punches being thrown.
All three were assessed penalties that took them out for the rest of the game.
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Chris Cwik
Brady Tkachuk put on a nasty move on a breakaway to put the U.S. up 6-1 in the semifinal.
Slovakia quickly got that one back, scoring to make it 6-2, but Tkachuk’s goal is worth replaying.
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Chris Cwik
Slovakia is running out of time, but trying whatever it can to make this a game again. Pavol Regenda scored with under seven minutes to play, making it a 6-2 lead for Team USA.
Slovakia will need four more quick scores to tie things up, but it was a start. The U.S. just needs to hold out for six more minutes.
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Chris Cwik
It’s officially a blowout in the semifinal. With under 10 minutes to go, the U.S. is up 6-1 after a score by Brady Tkachuk.
The score pushed Team USA’s lead back up to five goals, and killed any momentum Slovakia may have gained after their first score of the contest.
Team USA just needs to avoid a massive collapse here and they’ll move on to the gold-medal game.
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Chris Cwik
Now this is the face of a man who is having a good time watching some hockey.
Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is enjoying himself cheering on Team USA.
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Chris Cwik
Slovakia won’t be shut out in the semifinal. After a misplay by Connor Hellebuyck behind the goal, Jurai Slafkovsky took advantage with a score.
Slovakia still has work to do following the goal. They trail 5-1 with 14 minutes to play in the third period.
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Chris Cwik
Team USA won’t have Tage Thompson the rest of the way in the semifinal. Thompson was ruled out for the third period for “precautionary reasons.”
There’s not much information on a possible injury for Thompson. His status for a possible gold-medal game is unclear at the moment.
His status should be addressed following the semifinal.
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Chris Cwik
Just 20 minutes separate Team USA from a spot in the gold-medal game.
The Americans lead 5-0 over Slovakia. The U.S. just needs to hold on a little longer in order to advance.
They’ve played well in the contest, leading the way 26-13 in shots on goal.
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Chris Cwik
Team USA has five goals in the semifinal and two have come from Jack Hughes. With another score, Hughes would have a hat trick.
Here’s how his second goal of the second period looked:
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Chris Cwik
This is getting ugly. Team USA picked up another score in the second period, going up 5-0 heading into the third period.
Slovakia will need one heck of a comeback in the third period to make this one interesting. After two goals in the first period, Team USA was even better in the second, picking up three more goals.
There’s an opportunity for even more in the third period, as Team USA will have a power play to begin the period.
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Chris Cwik
Slovakia is falling apart against Team USA. After changing goalies, Slovakia committed a cross-checking penalty, giving the Americans another power play.
At 4-0, the game is quickly getting out of hand. Another goal could clinch a win for Team USA now. Time is quickly running out for a Slovakia comeback. There’s roughly two minutes left in the second period.
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Chris Cwik
It took 19 seconds for Team USA to turn this game into a potential blowout.
After a goal by Jack Hughes put the Americans up 3-0, Jack Eichel followed up with a goal of his own 19 seconds later. That put the U.S. up 4-0 with 7:27 to play.
Slovakia decided to change its goalie with things looking grim.
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Chris Cwik
The U.S. nearly went up 3-0 against Slovakia in the second period, but officials spotted the puck was kicked in by a skate.
Officials noticed the play immediately, and never signaled for a goal. A replay confirmed that call, keeping it 2-0 Team USA.
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Chris Cwik
Team USA keeps committing penalties and then keeps killing Slovakia’s power plays. Slovakia is now 0-for-3 in power play chances after the U.S. made it through another penalty unscathed.
Now, the Americans will have a shot to play with an extra man. Martin Fehervary was called for a holding call, giving the U.S. two minutes to try and secure a third score.
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Chris Cwik
Team USA and Slovakia fought through 4-on-4 play, with both teams failing to score. It was briefly back to 5-on-5 with roughly 14 minutes to go in the second period.
But then Charlie McAvoy was called for high sticking, giving Slovakia yet another power play. Team USA has killed every Slovakia power play thus far, but can’t keep playing a man down in the contest. It’s only a matter of time before Slovakia capitalizes. Team USA will need to clean things up moving forward.
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Chris Cwik
A penalty by Auston Matthews will make it 4-on-4 hockey for the next minute or so. Matthews was called for hooking and will sit in the box for two minutes.
His penalty came shortly after Slovakia was called for a roughing penalty. Once that penalty expires, Slovakia will have a brief power play before Matthews is allowed to return to the ice.
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Chris Cwik
More pushing and shoving from Team USA and Slovakia to start the second period. After a gathering near Slovakia’s goal, Brady Tkachuk again got involved in a shoving match.
This one resulted in a roughing call on Martin Fehervary, leaving to a power play for the Americans.
Team USA already leads 2-0 in the second period. A score here would go a long way toward putting the Americans in strong position to advance.
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Chris Cwik
Tage Thompson elevated the puck for Team USA’s second goal of the game.
Here’s how it looked in real time:
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Chris Cwik
Team USA picked up a power play and immediately capitalized. Shortly after Slovakia’s Milos Kelemen was called for tripping, Tage Thompson of Team USA scored.
The goal occurred with under a minute to play in the first period. Neither team scored the rest of the way, making it 2-0 after the first period.
Team USA played well, scoring twice in the first period for the first time in the 2026 Olympics. The Americans outshot Slovakia 11-8 in the first period as well.
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