United States finding success through bonding, consistency at Olympics

MILAN -- It was almost midnight local time when Matthew Tkachuk walked through the interview area at Santagiulia Arena on Sunday. Team USA had been in Milan for eight days, played its third 9:10 game in four nights and earned its third straight win, defeating Team Germany 5-1.

Tkachuk seemed exhausted and exhilarated at the same time.

The preliminary round of the men’s hockey tournament is over at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Next comes single elimination.

The American earned the second seed behind Team Canada and a bye into the quarterfinals Wednesday. They will play the winner of Team Sweden and Team Latvia, who play in the qualification playoffs Tuesday (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, CBC Gem, CBC).

“Just super excited to get in the knockout stage,” Tkachuk said. “We’ve only been here for however long, but it feels like we’ve been here for way longer.”

The forward laughed.

“It feels like this group’s been together for way longer,” he said. “The sacrifice ... We talk about it all the time, the commitment, kind of the life-changing experience this is for all of us. We don’t want to stop now.”

The Americans hope that will be a key to their quest for their first Olympic gold in men’s hockey since 1980 and their first win in a best-on-best tournament since the World Cup of Hockey in 1996.

The executives and coaches valued chemistry highly after the United States went to overtime of the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game last season, losing to Canada 3-2.

Of the 25 players on the Olympic roster, 21 played in that tournament.

“We really like our group,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “We think we’re built the right way. We think we have a lot of talent, and we look forward to the challenge.”

The Americans decided to stay in the Olympic Village for the entire tournament. They’ve been meeting other athletes, not to mention Elmo and Snoop Dogg, but most importantly, they’ve been staying in close quarters, bonding and having a blast.

Now it’s win-or-go-home. No one wants to go home early.

“This group is special,” center Dylan Larkin said. “It’s fun to be out there with them, and you don’t want it to end, so we’ve got to keep going and keep playing for each other to keep having fun.”

The Americans used the preliminary round to get their game in order, defeating Team Latvia 5-1 on Thursday and Team Denmark 6-3 on Saturday before playing what Larkin called their “best team game” against Germany.

The Denmark game was dicey. Goalie Jeremy Swayman got the start, and he allowed a goal from just inside the red line that put the Americans behind 2-1 in the first period. He allowed a goal from the point with 2.6 seconds left in the second that cut their lead to 4-3. The Americans looked out of sync, but they rallied.

They knew they needed to improve against Germany to win the group and prepare for single elimination.

“This is a big game for us,” Larkin said. “The fun started tonight, and I thought we battled and started to ramp it up for the big ones.”

Captain Auston Matthews came alive with three points (two goals, one assist), giving him five points (three goals, two assists) and tying him with Tkachuk (five assists) for the team lead in the tournament.

Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves, and there is no doubt he’s the No. 1 goalie, if there ever was any. He has allowed two goals in two games and is first in the tournament among goalies who have played more than one game with a .952 save percentage.

Sullivan replaced Kyle Connor with Clayton Keller up front against Germany, and he has moved Jack Hughes up from the fourth line at times. But for the most part, the forward lines and defensive pairings have remained consistent though three games.

“I think that we’ll obviously get better, and I think as the tournament goes on and the games get more competitive, I think we’ll rise to the occasion,” center Jack Eichel said. “We’ve done enough so far to put ourselves in a good position, but listen, it’s do or die now.”

It’s what they came here for.

"It’s a Game 7 scenario, you know?” Sullivan said. "The winner moves on. I think these guys, they understand it. They’ve played in a number of different circumstances that are very much like this.”

The Americans will take Monday off. They will practice Tuesday while other teams are battling to stay alive in the qualification round.

Yes, they might have to play Sweden in the quarterfinals, while the Canadians might get to play Team Czechia, which they've already defeated 5-0. So be it.

“We just wanted to win so we could win the group,” Tkachuk said. “We never talked once about top seed at all. None of that seeding stuff. All that handles itself, right? You’re going to play everybody if you want to win your ultimate goal.”

It was almost midnight. The clock was ticking. Tkachuk was smiling.

“All in all,” he said, “very, very pleased with how we’re going into the quarterfinals.”