Americans Shrug Off First Period Bad Luck to Down Latvia, 5-1

When Brock Nelson scored a second period goal for USA against Latvia he pointed to the net like he was a referee signaling a goal.

He clearly wanted to show this one was going to count.

The Americans moved past first period bad luck -- which included two overturned goals and shots off the crossbar and post -- to hammer Latvia 5-1 in their opening game at 2026 Olympics.  The Latvians only have six NHL players but managed to play USA to a 1-1 tie for one period thanks to winning coach's challenges for offside and goalie interference. Team USA then struck for three goals in the second period -- two by Colorado's Nelson -- to break the game open:

The Story: 

USA's Offense

Austin Matthews scored once and had four shots on goal, while Tage Thompson and Brady Tkachuk also scored. Jack and Quinn Hughes each contributed two assists. Jack Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk also had two assists each.  USA fired 38 shots on goal. Third line center Dylan Larkin was 8-2 in the faceoff circle.

Who's Getting the Playing Time

Jack Eichel (18:13) and Matthew Tkachuk (17:55) led the forwards and Quinn Hughes topped defenseman (21:29)

Goaltending

Connor Hellebuyck was the first game starter, but we don't know coach Mike Sullivan's plan for his goaltending. Hellebuyck needed 17 saves. Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger are his other options.

Game Note

Jack and Quinn Hughes and Brady and Matthew Tkachuk give USA two sets of brothers. This is not the first time an American Olympic hockey team had two sets of brothers. In 1960, Bill and Bob Cleary, plus Roger and Bill Cleary played for the Americans' in their gold medal run. Brock Nelson is Bill Christian's grandson. Dave Christian, who played on the 1980 Olympic team, is Nelson's uncle. 

Analysis

The Americans were not probably as dialed in as Canada was in its 5-0 win against Czechia, but USA had complete control of the game. This is a team that looks like it will have no difficulty scoring goals. Provided their goaltending is as good as advertised, the Americans are certainly among the favorites. 

Three Thoughts From this Game

1. The standard for goalie interference in this tournament is more pro-goalie than we see at the NHL level.

2. Auston Matthews might be a greater offensive force if has a playmaking winger like Jack Hughes.

3. When Quinn Hughes is on the ice, there is a better than even odds that an offensive chance is coming. 

Next Game

The Americans play Denmark Saturday at 3 p.m. Denmark, with six NHL players on its roster, lost 3-1 to Moritz Seider's German team Thursday. Nikolaj Ehlers is Denmark's best NHLer. He had no interest in signing with Detroit when he was an unrestricted free agent last summer.