2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey: Top standouts as USA eliminates Sweden
The United States will play for a medal at the 2026 men’s Olympic hockey tournament after beating Sweden 2-1 in overtime.
The Americans will take on Slovakia in the second quarterfinal, set for Friday at 3:10 PM ET.
Victor Hedman was on the bench the whole game, but never hit the ice. It was revealed that he was injured during warmups, which put a strain on the rest of the group. The Swedes held it together, and kept things tight as the game remained tied for over 31 minutes. But at 31:03, Dylan Larkin tipped in Jack Hughes’ shot from afar to beat Jacob Markstrom, making it a 1-0 game.
The goaltending held the fort for both teams in the period, with offense clearly being tough to come by. That was until Mika Zibanejad scored with an empty-netter with under two minutes to go, forcing overtime to mark the third game to require extra time on Wednesday. It was there where Quinn Hughes – the top player for the Americans today – fired a shot past Markstrom to make it 2-1, giving the United States the victory.
Here’s a look at the top performers from the final quarterfinal game of the day:
Sweden
#25 Jacob Markstrom, G (New Jersey Devils): If Markstrom played like this every night, the Devils would be in a better spot in the standings. He looked absolutely dialed in, which is important given he also played about 24 hours ago. It wasn’t an overly difficult outing against Latvia, but he didn’t look any worse for wear as the Americans peppered him throughout this one. There wasn’t much he could have done on the 1-0 goal – other than that, he was excellent.
#65 Erik Karlsson, D (Pittburgh Penguins): With Hedman injured during warmups, Karlsson was tasked with eating a ton of minutes. He played exactly 10:00 in the first period and was well north of 25 minutes by the end of the night. Karlsson has played some good hockey the past few days after getting lost in the spotlight early on. Karlsson’s confidence and experience both with and without the puck was important as coach Sam Hallam looked to get everything out of his squad in the dying minutes of this one.
#23 Lucas Raymond, RW (Detroit Red Wings): Raymond has been Sweden’s top playmaker in the tournament. Today, though, it was all shots, all the time. Raymond has been one of the best players all tournament long thanks to his outstanding puck play. He’s fearless around the net, and his speed has continuously allowed him to dominate on the attack. Despite his best efforts, it simply didn’t come together today.
USA
#37 Connor Hellebuyck, G (Winnipeg Jets): This was the first American game where goaltending was truly important. Hellebuyck’s rebounds were controlled, and he rarely looked out of position on a shot. While Jeremy Swayman was a bit all over the place against Denmark, Hellebuyck was much more relaxed in this one, giving the Swedes little to work with around the crease.
#25 Charlie McAvoy, D (Boston Bruins): McAvoy was a human battering ram out there. How many big hits did he have in the first period, five? He was finally able to drop the bubble after dealing with a jaw injury prior to the tournament, and it seemed to unlock the fearless McAvoy we’re used to seeing. He doesn’t always need to beat you physically, either – McAvoy did an excellent job of smothering opponents to the perimeter.
#43 Quinn Hughes, D (Minnesota Wild): Hughes played the most minutes of any American and was also the team’s best shot generator – again. He plays with a level of confidence that few defenders can match at this tournament. He moves well, takes away space and can eat minutes better than anyone on this blueline. And then that overtime goal? Perfection.
#21 Dylan Larkin, C (Detroit Red Wings): Even before the goal, it felt like Larkin was much more engaged than usual. He was great around the net, but also played a strong two-way game. The tip on the 1-0 marker was perfectly placed, and it was good to see him finally get one after what had been a difficult tournament for him up to today.
PRESENTED BY DAILY FACEOFF’S OLYMPIC COVERAGE
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