Men's Olympic Ice Hockey
2026 Olympic
Hockey
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Team USA looks to advance to the men's hockey gold medal game for the first time since 2010, but has to get by a dangerous Slovakia team that's been the surprise of this Olympic tournament.
You can follow our live coverage of the first semifinal between Canada and Finland here.
After last night’s dramatic OT win for the U.S. women’s hockey team in the gold medal game, Team USA still has a chance at a double gold.
The U.S. has only won the gold medal in men's hockey twice, both coming before women's hockey was included in the Olympics: 1960 and 1980.
The Americans have played in three previous Olympic semifinals with the NHL’s participation.
Team USA’s record in those games is 2-1. Their lone loss was at Sochi 2014 against the eventual gold-medal winner Canada.
In international hockey, USA and Slovakia have played 30 times at the senior men’s national team level.
At the Olympic Games with NHLers, USA and Slovakia have met just twice: at Sochi 2014 and Turin 2006.
The Americans dominated the Slovakians 7-1 in 2014, with David Backes, Phil Kessel and Dustin Brown among the goal scorers. In 2006, Slovakia prevailed 2-1.
It was Quinn Hughes who rescued Team USA in 3-on-3 sudden-death overtime in Wednesday's quarterfinals matchup with Sweden, with a brilliant goal to secure a 2-1 victory that sent the U.S. to the semifinals.
It’s a very deserved moment for Hughes, who’s been superb this entire Olympic tournament for Team USA. Hughes leads all defenders in 2026 Olympics men's hockey play with six points entering today's game.
Connor Hellebuyck may be the best hockey goaltender in the world right now. He's not only a two-time Vezina Trophy winner in the NHL but is the reigning Hart Trophy winner as well as the league's most valuable player last season.
Yet the knock on the Winnipeg Jets goalie has always been his performance in big games. Well, here he is representing his country at the Winter Olympics, and Hellebuyck — a native of the Detroit suburbs — leads all Olympic goalies with a .958 save percentage. The only time the U.S. has given up multiple goals in a game in Milan was the one in which Jeremy Swayman started in goal for Hellebuyck.
The superstar goalie will need a similarly strong performance today for the U.S. to get past a pesky Slovakia team.
One of the biggest changes since NHLers were last on the Olympic stage 12 years ago is how the games are being called.
Without much fanfare, the NHL and IIHF spent the last five years or so diligently narrowing the gap between rulebooks.
“The last time the NHL players were at the Olympics, the rulebooks of the IIHF and the National Hockey League were significantly different,’’ Scott Zelkin, head of officiating for the IIHF, said in an interview with The Athletic. “Not only standards, how we penalize different fouls, but also just the pure and simple labeling of penalties and what you can call different fouls.
“In the last handful of years, those two rulebooks have come to the point where they are almost identical,’’ added Zelkin, a former NHL referee from 1997 to 2003. “There are a few nuances that are different, and the fans may see some differences, but in general, the rulebooks now are really, really close. So that’s the first thing that in our mind is helping to standardize the officiating really across the world.’’
It’s an IIHF tournament with an IIHF rulebook, but it's a blended officiating standard on display at this men’s Olympic tournament.
Follow the link below to learn more.
GO FURTHER
As NHL players return to Olympics, blended officiating will be on full display
The Olympic Village is the place to be before and after hockey games.
Just take Thursday. Early in the afternoon the day after the U.S. men’s hockey team beat Sweden in the quarterfinals, U.S. players Matthew Tkachuk, Zach Werenski and Connor Hellebuyck hopped on Lime scooters to head to lunch — only to run into Sweden’s Lucas Raymond and Germany’s Tim Stützle, whose team lost to Slovakia in the quarters, waiting with long faces for Ubers so they could head to the airport for return flights to North America.
An awkward meeting, or no?
“I wouldn’t say it’s weird,” Tkachuk said. “I think we obviously expected to be in the semifinals, and then we’re dealt a really tough task with Sweden, and one of us had to go home. And fortunately for us, we’re still here, but I would have a hard time wrapping my head around it if we were heading home today. It’s very unfortunate for them, because they’re a hell of a team and one of the best in the world. They probably deserve to be in the semifinals. So do we.”
Read more about life for NHL stars in the Olympic Village in Milan below.
GO FURTHER
Life as an NHLer in the Olympic Village: Awkward encounters, late bedtimes and ‘just kind of hanging’
The United States will have its hands full today against a young, fearless Slovakia team that has surprised just about everyone in this Olympic men's hockey tournament. Arpon Basu has more on the group of budding Slovakian stars, led by Juraj Slafkovský, who are living out their Olympic dreams.
GO FURTHER
Slovakia’s Slafkovský, Nemec and Dvorský are living out a childhood Olympic dream
The United States women's and men's hockey teams each entered the 2026 Winter Olympics looking for their third Olympic gold medal.
Job done for the U.S. women's team, which defeated archrival Canada 2-1 in an overtime thriller. Megan Keller got the winning goal in 3-on-3 play after captain Hilary Knight tied the game late in the third period on a tip-in from a Laila Edwards slap shot.
Read more about the thrilling Team USA triumph below.
GO FURTHER
USA takes Olympic gold in women’s hockey, defeating Canada in OT to cap dominant run
Team USA is a win away from the gold medal match, but Slovakia will pose a serious challenge in its upset bid. Mark Lazerus breaks down how the U.S. can overcome a red-hot Slovakia team and return to the gold-medal game.
Head coach: Mike Sullivan
Forwards
Defensemen
Goalies
After an electric set of quarterfinal matchups, the stage is set for what should be two terrific semifinals. It’s Canada vs. Finland and the United States vs. Slovakia for the right to play for gold on Sunday.
While there’s a clear favorite in each game, nothing is a given in a winner-takes-all matchup.
Below, we break down how likely each team is to win, how the two teams stack up and what their path to victory looks like.
Here’s what to expect from each matchup.
GO FURTHER
This men’s hockey semifinal game between Team USA and Slovakia is occurring at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
It’s an arena that was built for the Milan Cortina Games to host men’s and women’s hockey games. After the Olympics are over, it will be converted into a multipurpose center.
The capacity is 16,000.
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Will Team USA finally get back to an Olympics gold medal game? Or will Slovakia continue its run with its most impressive upset yet?
We’d love to read your thoughts, opinions and predictions about today's game! Email us at live@theathletic.com and we will take the best submissions and publish them in the live coverage.
In the U.S., you can watch Team USA vs. Slovakia on NBC or Peacock.
In Canada, this game can be watched on CBC, Sportsnet or TSN.
Today's Olympic men's hockey semifinal game between Team USA and Slovakia starts at 9:10 p.m. CET, local time in Milan. That's 3:10 p.m. ET and 12:10 p.m. PT in the United States.
Hello and welcome back to The Athletic’s coverage of the men’s hockey tournament in the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
Fresh off its dramatic overtime win over Sweden in Wednesday's quarterfinals matchup, Team USA takes on upstart Slovakia with a spot in the gold medal game on the line.
Follow along as we build up to puck drop and bring you updates on all the action on the ice — along with real-time expert analysis from The Athletic’s NHL staff!