The USA men’s hockey team is looking to continue its march to a gold medal in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy on Saturday, Feb. 15.
USA’s second match in pool play comes against Denmark at 3:10 p.m. ET (9:10 Milan local time). After opening Olympic play with a 5-1 win over Latvia, USA still controls its own destiny. Denmark fell to Germany, 3-1, in its opening match.
Brock Nelson, a member of the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, starred in the opening win over Latvia, scoring two goals.
We’ll start our updates here about two hours before puck drop, so check back in.
USA will play Germany at 3:10 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, Feb. 15, to wrap up pool play. Against Denmark, the US was led by 6 different goal-scorers and 14 different players had at least a point.
Jack Hughes scores when he puts off the back of goalie Frederik Dichow’s skate. USA leads 6-3 with just over 5 minutes remaining.
Frederik Dichow replaces Mads Sogaard in goal for Denmark. USA leads 5-3 with just under 9 minutes to play.
On a relentless offensive attack, team USA takes a 5-3 lead when Auston Matthews feeds Jake Guentzel for a wrist shot tally.
USA holds a 4-3 lead over Denmark to start the third period.
After a slow start to the period, USA explodes for three goals (Brady Tkachuk, Jack Eichel, Noah Hanafin) in the final 11 minutes of the period. Denmark responds late in the period as Phillip Bruggisser blasts a slapshot off a faceoff win to cut the deficit to 4-3 with 3 seconds left in period. USA out-shot Denmark, 15-4, in the frame.
Another goal from Massachusetts as Noah Hanafin increases the US lead. Hanafin, who grew up in Norwood, joins Milford’s Matt Boldy as the locals to find twine today. USA takes a 4-2 lead with 2:37 left in the second period
USA has the momentum now. 57 seconds after Tkachuk’s goal, Jack Eichel gives USA its first lead of the day, 3-2.
Brady Tkachuk scores right off a faceoff win and goes bar down. We’re tied up 2-2 midway through the second period.
Denmark goes to the box for a slashing. Denmark leads 2-1 with 16:52 left in the second period.
Denmark holds a surprising 2-1 lead as the second period gets underway.
After one period, Denmark holds a surprising 2-1 lead. Brady Tkachuk ends the period with a little bit of a scrum to try and spark some momentum.
With 8:44 left in the first period, Denmark’s Nicholas Jensen launches a shot from center ice and somehow beats USA goalie Jeremy Swayman over his blocker side. Denmark leads 2-1.
USA kills off a Denmark power play. We’re tied as cross the midway point of the first period.
USA answers immediately, less than two minutes after Denmark’s goal to tie the game at 1-1.. Matt Boldy, a 24-year-old from Milford, Mass., plays a shot off Mads Sogaard’s pad and then takes the rebound around the net for a wraparound finish at 16:25 of the first period.
Denmark strikes early as USA can’t clear a loose puck at the top of the goal mouth at 18:20 of the first period. Nick Olesen was there to push the puck through Jeremy Swayman’s five hole. Replay shows that after Swayman made the initial save, the puck deflected off a USA defenseman’s skate before going in.
Jack Eichel takes the opening faceoff and we’re underway in the United States’ second game of the Olympics. A ‘USA!’ chant breaks out immediately.
Mike Sullivan is a Marshfield, MA who played high school hockey at BC High. Sullivan, 57, played for four NHL teams (San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins and Phoenix Coyotes). He coached the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins and is the current coach of the New York Rangers.
He coached the Penguins to consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. Sullivan is the only American-born NHL coach to have won more than one Stanley Cup.
Hughes led USA in ice time at 21:29 in the 5-1 win over Latvia. He also tallied 2 assists.
USA vs. Denmark will played on Peacock (streaming) and the USA Network (TV). Puck drop is set for 3:10 p.m. (ET)
Kevin Fiala, who plays for the Los Angeles Kings, was injured in a 5-1 loss to Canada on Friday. Fiala suffered a lower-leg injury when he backed into a hit with Canada’s Tom Wilson near the boards. The Swiss announced that Fiala’s Olympics were done and he underwent surgery.
Fiala was stretchered off the ice face down.
Jeremy Swayman will make his first Olympic start in goal. That’s the only change in the lineup from the opening win against Latvia.
All 12 Olympic hockey teams will advance past the group stage. The three first-place finishers in each group advance to the quarterfinals, along with the top second-place team.
The other eight teams will play in a qualifying round on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The winner of those four games will meet the top four seeds in the quarterfinals.
While Jeremy Swayman and Charlie McAvoy play for Team USA, seven other Boston Bruins are also competing.
David Pastrnak leads the way for Czechia and he scored his first Olympic goal on Friday in a 6-3 win over France. Pavel Zacha is also playing for Czechia.
McAvoy battled Dans Locmelis of Latvia in the US’s opening 5-1 win on Thursday.
Henri Jokiharju and Joonas Korpisalo are teaming up for Finland while Elias Lindholm and Hampus Lindholm (they’re not brothers) are on the ice for Finland.
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman will get his first start of the Olympics today. Connor Hellebuyck started in Thursday’s game, stopping 17 shots in a 5-1 win over Latvia.
Swayman, an Alaska nativa, will share the ice with one of his teammates, defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
Swayman has posted a 22-12-3 record in NHL play this season with a 2.92 goals against average and a .903 save percentage.
Sunday, Feb. 15 (times ET)
Group A – Czechia vs. Switzerland, 6:10 a.m.
Gorup A – Canada vs. France, 10:40 a.m.
Group C – Denmark vs. Latvia, 1:10 p.m.
Group C – United States vs. Germany, 3:10 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 17
Playoff qualifiers
Wednesday, Feb. 18
Quarterfinals
Friday, Feb. 20
Semifinals
Saturday, Feb. 21
Bronze-medal game
Gold-medal game
Wins-Losses-OT losses, Goal differential
Group A
Group B
Group C
Denmark’s roster is headlined by NHL veterans Lars Eller (Ottawa Senators) and Nikolaj Ehlers (Carolina Hurricanes). Eller, a 36-year-old, is playing in his 17th NHL season and has 190 goals over 1,159 games. Ehlers, a left wing who is celebrating his 30th birthday today, has 239 goals across 731 games. He’s playing his first season in Carolina after spending the first 10 years of his career with the Winnipeg Jets.
Ehlers’ teammate and goaltender Frederik Andersen plays goaltender. Andersen is in his 13th season and has also played for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Oliver Bjorkstrand is a right wing for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mads Sogaard is a 25-year-old backup goalie for the Senators.
The USA women’s hockey team advanced to the semifinals with a 6-0 win over Italy in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
There is no mercy rule in Olympic hockey, as evidenced by Finland’s 11-0 win over Italy earlier on Saturday. That was the most lopsided result in the tournament so far.
Don’t expect to see any fights in Olympic, as the rules don’t allow for it. Fighting is not allowed in International Ice Hockey Federation rules.
“Fighting is not part of international ice hockey’s DNA,” the organization states in Rule 46 of the IIHF rulebook.
“Players who willingly, participate in a ‘brawl/fight’ so-called ‘willing combatants,’ shall be penalized accordingly by the referee(s) and may be ejected from the game,” the rulebook says. “Further supplementary discipline may be imposed.”
To watch it on television, the Winter Olympics are being broadcast on NBC Sports.
Peacock is streaming every event live.
USA vs. Denmark will be televised on USA Network.
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