USA Men Will Battle Canada For Olympic Gold After Crushing Slovakia 6-2
We're getting the USA-Canada matchup we all wanted!
Even before the Olympic men's hockey tournament, most people probably expected Team USA to make it to the semifinals.
However, despite being the reigning bronze medalists from the 2022 Beijing Games, Slovakia has been the surprise of the tournament.
They opened their slate with a statement 4-1 win over Finland, despite not having the same volume of household names that they did in the days of Zdeno Chara and Marián Gáborík.
Still, they've been led by the insanely talented Juraj Slafkovsky of the Montreal Canadiens — the MVP of the 2022 Olympics at just 17 years old — and have been backstopped by stellar play from Samuel Hlavaj who plays for the AHL's Iowa Wild.
So, while the US came in as the heavy favorites, there was every reason to take the Slovaks seriously.
It was clear that the Americans were aware of this because even before the puck dropped, Team USA agitator extraordinaire Matthew Tkachuk knew that one of the keys to the game was going to be making Slafkovsky's life miserable.
To Slafkovsky's credit, he didn't back down and took Tkachuk to the ice after the opening faceoff with a slew foot that the officials let slide.
In the early going, it was all Team USA. They hounded the Slovaks early, who were clearly gripping their sticks a bit tighter, leading to multiple turnovers in their own zone in just the first five minutes.
Just 4:19 into the game, US defenseman Zach Werenski spotted a streaking Dylan Larkin coming off the bench, hit him with a perfect feed, and the Red Wings captain got the US on the board first.
It was the second straight game with a goal for Larkin; however, the US found themselves in a bit of trouble shortly after.
Charlie McAvoy was called for goaltender interference, which the Americans killed off to stay a perfect 11/11 on the penalty kill at these Olympics.
READ: CANADA BEATS FINLAND TO ADVANCE TO OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL GAME
A couple of minutes later, Werenski skied a puck up and over the glass for a delay of game penalty. It was an unforced error, but again, the Americans killed it off.
Their power play unit got its first taste of action late in the first when Slovakia's Milos Kelemen headed to the box for tripping.
Just 17 seconds into that power play, Buffalo Sabres stud Tage Thompson buried a beauty of a one-timer from an extreme angle, going short-side on Hlavaj to give the Americans a two-goal lead.
In the second period, it was once again all Team USA, starting with an unreal goal from New Jersey Devils star (and rumored Tate McCrae beau — take that, Canada!) Jack Hughes.
Then, just 19 seconds later, Vegas' Jack Eichel added to the lead.
After that, Slovakia gave Hlavaj the hook — something he was visibly frustrated about — and sent Stanislav Škorvánek between the pipes.
With under two minutes in the period, a US power play had just wrapped up when Hughes added another tally to give the Americans a 5-0 lead.
Slovakia was frustrated after this one. Patrik Koch handed the Americans another power play after he lost his mind and committed two or three penalties within a couple of seconds, depending on how you want to look at it (but was only called for one).
The Americans gave up two goals in the third period and got one back on a beauty of a breakaway from Brady Tkachuk to end this one 6-2.
And we even got a little Battle of Florida flavor to cap it off with Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers and Erik Černák of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The win sets up a titanic clash — the one we've all been hoping for since they last played at the 4 Nations Faceoff — between the United States and Canada for Olympic gold on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Slovakia's work isn't done. They'll take on Finland on Saturday for what could be their second straight bronze medal.