2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey: Top standouts from Denmark vs. USA
Given USA’s dominance against Latvia, it was easy to assume that they’d roll over Denmark. And the Americans won the game 6-3 after all, but it was far from easy.
The United States sits in first place in Group C, with a chance to be the top seed in the tournament. Denmark, meanwhile, will remain at 0-2 heading into their final round-robin game against Latvia.
The Danes got off to a quick lead, with 2025 World Champion hero Nick Olesen poking the puck below Jeremy Swayman and in to make it 1-0. That seemed to startle the Americans a bit, but Matt Boldy calmed the nerves at 3:35 to make it 1-1. The two teams traded chances, with the Americans looking like a better team.
That was, of course, until Nicholas B. Jensen took what appeared to be a harmless shot from center ice. Jensen isn’t known for scoring – he has one goal in nine World Championship tournaments. But as the puck crept closer to the American net, it was clear Swayman lost track of it and got his glove up. But, unfortunately for him, the puck was headed for his blocker, and Denmark was able to take a shocking 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
Denmark seemed to scare the Americans, who took a while to get things rolling in the second. At 29:26, Brady Tkachuk scored just seconds after a faceoff to make it 2-2, only for Jack Eichel to score on an extremely similar play 57 seconds later. A goal from Noah Hanifin at 37:23 gave USA some breathing room, but Phillip Bruggisser would score with three seconds left in the period to make things interesting again.
USA’s second line of Boldy, Jake Guentzel and Auston Matthews struggled, beyond Boldy’s opening period goal. But Guentzel made everything worth it when he took advantage of a tired Danish team to make it 5-3 USA. At that point, the Danes just didn’t have the speed to keep up, and a late goal from Jack Hughes sealed the deal.
Here’s a look at the top performers from the final game on Saturday:
Denmark
#41 Jesper Jensen Aabo, D: JJA is used to playing heavy minutes and he was tasked with that again here. Aabo had an assist in 24 minutes of the night against the Germans, getting tasked with stopping guys like Tim Stutzle and Leon Draisaitl. Tonight, he had to deal with all of the USA’s top guns, and he never looked out of place. He’s a good skater who blocks a ton of shots, but he also forces opponents to the outside effectively.
#20 Lars Eller, C (Ottawa Senators): While nobody will mistake Eller for a skilled star, he’s definitely Denmark’s hardest-working forward. He has built an impressive career on being a two-way center who will grind you to death at both ends of the ice. He’s strong defensively, kills penalties, and can fire a shot off quite quickly. Even as an older player, you can tell he has had a huge impact through two games.
#95 Nick Olesen, LW: Olesen was the miracle-maker at the World Championship, and they needed him to step it up against the Americans. So scoring right off the hop was good for his confidence, and then he had a few other looks that just came up short. He’s a skilled forward with quick hands, but he has a nonstop motor and relentless work ethic that allows him to win many of his individual battles.
USA
#8 Zach Werenski, D (Columbus Blue Jackets): I don’t know if there’s a perfect way to quantify it beyond shots, but it feels like the American forwards trust Werenski the most to make a smart move with the puck. He had four shots in the first 40 minutes as USA tried to force their way back into the game. He didn’t score, but he made every effort to get to the net. It feels like Werenski has been USA’s best defender through two games.
#43 Quinn Hughes, D (Minnesota Wild): Hughes is so calm and collected under pressure. He had an assist, but he also broke up a couple of near-rushes from the Danish attack. Hughes is the best skating defender on the blueline, making most of his plays look effortless. They don’t need him to generate a ton of chances because Werenski can make it happen, but Hughes has the elite hockey brain to force opponents into making bad decisions with the puck.
#7 Brady Tkachuk, RW (Ottawa Senators): I’ll group in Matthew here because he looked great as well. The whole line, along with Eichel, did. Tkachuk is a you-know-what disturber and the Danes changed their focus to try and shut him down. That opened up lanes for his linemates, though, which is something he does well in Ottawa. That’s two electric games for a player who wants to shine in the spotlight.
#9 Jack Eichel, C (Vegas Golden Knights): Eichel was an absolute beast there. The faceoff win on the second goal, his own shot on the third… just felt like he was cooking when USA needed him to. His energy and his constant play-driving meant he was almost always creating something in the offensive zone. If Eichel continues to bring the energy and the offense to every shift, the Americans should be fine.
#12 Matt Boldy, LW (Minnesota Wild): Boldy loves making a living around the net, and it was his relentless attack that resulted in the first American goal. He’s not afraid of anyone, and that’s because he’s built strong enough to handle everything opponents throw at him. Boldy has always been electric for the Americans in national team competitions, and he has been the top player on USA’s second line by a country mile.
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