The United States men’s hockey team, for the first time since the 2014 Olympic Games at Sochi, Russia, features NHL  players on the Olympic team. The U.S. dominated Latvia 5-1 in their opening round of the Milan Cortina games. 

A game that opened scoring with a nifty pass from Matthew Tkachuk, who plays for the NHL’s Florida Panthers, to his younger brother Brady Tkachuk, who plays for the Ottawa Senators, also featured some drama before Team USA took over. Successful offside and goalie interference challenges by Latvia negated two goals for the U.S. early in the matchup, and it was a tie game with Latvia 1-1 after the first period. 

Eventually, the U.S’s NHL  squad took over thanks to the help of two goals by the Colorado Avalanche’s Brock Nelson and his decisive goal that gave Team USA and New York Rangers coach Mike Sullivan the lead at 2-1, which was all that they needed to win the game.

The U.S., being a gold medal favorite in these Olympic Games alongside Canada, is expected to thump opponents who are not as heavily favored. However, it’s only been one year since the U.S. lost in a hard- fought and dramatic Four Nations tournament to Canada, with both teams including NHL players. 

Canada won their preliminary Olympic matchup in dominating fashion 5-0 over Czechia. Team USA’s next game was Feb. 14 against Denmark, and they look forward to carrying the momentum from the second period against Latvia into this matchup.

 There is anticipation of having a rematch against Canada on an even bigger stage this time around for the all-desirable gold medal, but this team needs to fire on all cylinders first before getting to that ultimate stage.

Even with their overriding win against Latvia, the tied score after the first period and the disallowed goals brought some stomach flurries, so Sullivan will surely want to see more consistent output throughout the entirety of the games.

 The Tkachuk brothers, Brock Nelson and Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck’s 17 saves, set a good tone for the U.S. to begin the Olympics. 

The next big game is approaching, so it remains to be seen whether the U.S. will make any progress and what effort Denmark will make. The U.S. is 1-0 so far, and one step closer to achieving the ultimate glorious gold, to avenging their runner-up finish to Canada last year and to the opportunity for more players to make their mark on the world stage