Team USA to battle Canada for Olympic gold after dominant performance against Slovakia

The escaped vertebrate is flying precocious successful Milan.

The United States men's Olympic hockey squad dominated Slovakia from commencement to decorativeness connected Friday, winning 6-2 to acceptable up a golden medal crippled against their archrival Canada.

Dylan Larkin got the scoring started aboriginal successful the game, and Tage Thompson recovered the backmost of the nett successful the closing moments of the archetypal to enactment the Americans up 2-0.

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United States’ Jack Hughes (86) celebrates aft scoring his 2nd extremity of the crippled against Slovakia during the 2nd play of a men’s crystal hockey semifinal crippled astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics successful Milan, Italy, connected Feb. 20, 2026. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

It was the 2nd period, though, that was dominant. Jack Hughes and Jack Eichel scored wrong 19 seconds of each other, and Hughes scored again aboriginal connected to marque it a 5-0 game. In the third, Brady Tkachuk added different for bully measure.

This volition beryllium the archetypal clip the Americans volition play for golden since 2010, erstwhile they mislaid an overtime heartbreaker to Canada successful Vancouver. Canada, which has won 3 golden medals successful Olympics successful which NHL players participated (1998-2014), clinched its spot successful the golden medal crippled aft warring backmost from a 2-0 shortage against Finland earlier Friday.

United States’ Jack Eichel (9) celebrates aft scoring a extremity against Slovakia during the 2nd play of a men’s crystal hockey semifinal crippled astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics successful Milan, Italy, connected Feb. 20, 2026. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

US SKIER’S QUEST FOR OLYMPIC GOLD COMES TO A CRUSHING HALT AFTER TERRIFYING CRASH

Looking ahead, the U.S.-Canada rivalry is 1 that, to enactment it bluntly, Canada has owned. This volition beryllium the eighth clip the United States and Canada volition play for Olympic gold, and the lone clip the Americans won was backmost successful 1960. They besides faced disconnected for golden successful 1920, 1924, 1932, 1952, 2002 and 2010. In best-on-best format, the U.S. is 5-15-1, and 3 of those victories came successful the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

These 2 teams are already precise acquainted with each other, arsenic some rosters are mostly composed of the aforesaid members arsenic past year's 4 Nations Face-Off, wherever 3 fights occurred successful the archetypal 9 seconds successful the countries' archetypal best-on-best crippled successful 9 years.

Tensions betwixt some teams and the fans were sky-high successful that tournament, arsenic it was caller disconnected President Donald Trump's "51st state" comments. Canada yet won the 4 Nations against the U.S. successful an overtime thriller.

But this is the existent large stage, and the Americans are looking not lone for revenge but besides for bragging rights for 4 years.

United States’ Jack Eichel, center, celebrates with Brock Faber (14) and Jaccob Slavin (74) aft Eichel scored a extremity against Slovakia during the 2nd play of a men’s crystal hockey semifinal crippled astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics successful Milan, Italy, connected Feb. 20, 2026. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo)

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The golden medal crippled volition instrumentality spot Sunday — the 46th day of the "Miracle connected Ice" — astatine 8:10 a.m. ET.

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