Winter Olympics 2026: Team USA men’s hockey survives scare, holds off pesky Denmark

MILAN — Team USA might have it on a formula to get it through the rough stretches of these Olympics: When all else fails, just add Brady.

Brady Tkachuk threw hands late in the first period, then threw an equalizer into the net halfway through the second to rally a frustrated Team USA to a key 6-3 victory over Denmark. Six different Americans scored, a necessary if erratic and late-arriving offensive explosion.

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“He’s a beast. His energy is contagious,” Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan said after the game. “He’s so vocal on the bench, in between periods. He’s a positive guy. He drags everybody into the fight, literally and figuratively.”

But not all wins are victories. This was a sloppy, subpar effort from a United States team that needs to be playing at a much higher level if it hopes to bring home a gold against Canada. When your All-Star squad is getting pushed around by a team with only five current NHL players and prospects on its roster, there’s work to be done between now and the knockout rounds.

Sullivan opted to go with Jeremy Swayman in goal, sending Connor Hellebuyck to the bench. The move seemed like a good opportunity to give Swayman some ice time against an inferior opponent. It didn’t quite work out that way.

Denmark doesn’t really have any on-paper advantages against the United States, so the Danes pressed their one strength — a fast, agile front line — and did their best to slow down the game by harassing the United States from every angle. The move paid immediate dividends in the opening minutes, as Denmark’s Nick Olesen punched in a goal through a scrum less than two minutes into the game.

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Team USA’s Matt Boldy scored an equalizer on a wraparound less than two minutes later, and for a few minutes, order seemed to be restored. But then Denmark’s Nicholas Jensen fired a shot from the neutral zone, just inside the red line, blowing it right past Swayman for an embarrassingly easy goal. So easy, in fact, that it’s entirely possible Swayman lost the puck against the inexplicably black boards that line the ice in Milan.

“I’m color-blind, so it doesn’t matter to me,” Swayman smiled after the game. “It’s something all of us goalies have to face. We play in different arenas every night in the NHL, so it’s just a challenge we have to embrace.”

The first period ended with the United States holding a 12-7 shot advantage but a frustrating 2-1 deficit on the scoreboard. Perhaps for that reason, Brady Tkachuk decided to punch Oliver Lauridsen’s helmet off, but the Olympic referees intervened before any real hostilities could ensue.

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Denmark continued to fluster the United States offense, hassling the Americans right through a second-period power play, frustrating Team USA right up until the moment that Brady Tkachuk evened up matters. Tkachuk, off a face-off win by Jack Eichel, rifled a shot right past Danish goalie Mads Sogaard to tie the game at 2 apiece.