Takeaways from Team USA's Olympic hockey win vs. Slovakia - ESPN

Team USA needed overtime to defeat Sweden in the quarterfinal round of the 2026 Olympic men's hockey tournament.

Friday's game in the semifinal round was not nearly as stressful for viewers.

The Americans scored early and often, and closed out a 6-2 win over Slovakia to earn a spot in the gold medal game, where the team will face Canada on Sunday (8:10 a.m. ET).

How did the U.S. put together such a dominant performance? Who were the key players in the contest? And what does it all mean as we look ahead to the final showdown against the U.S.'s primary hockey rival?

This was by far the best Team USA has looked in the tournament, particularly on the offensive side. The Americans didn't have the same spark in their quarterfinals matchup against Sweden, where they managed just one goal in regulation while several of their top forwards were stymied. It took an overtime marker from defenseman Quinn Hughes to put them through to the semis, after all.

The U.S. made up for lost time against Slovakia. Dylan Larkin (the other scorer in the quarterfinal victory), Tage Thompson, Jack Hughes (twice), Jack Eichel and Brady Tkachuk (on a breakaway, no less) all contributed goals in the rout, and it felt like there was more cohesion up front than we've seen so far from this group.

A FILTHY move by Brady Tkachuk to extend the lead. pic.twitter.com/CIrgDfTFR6

It's not unusual for a team to take time developing chemistry when thrown together for a short period. We're seeing that evolution in real time from the USA, and the team has picked the perfect moment to crescendo.

The Americans had little trouble scoring goals Friday. But they could stand to be smarter when it comes to giving up opportunities for goals against.

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