The Matchup: Team USA vs. Team Slovakia (Semifinals)
The Time: 3:10 PM EST (local time 21:10)
The Broadcasts: TV — Peacock, USA Network
For Gold or Bronze
Both the Americans and Slovaks have earned the shot for a medal. Today’s Semifinal matchup just decides whether they will go for the top prize or if they will have to fight for a third-place consolation. After a tough matchup in the Quarterfinals against Sweden, Team USA has to make sure that they do not let up against a pluckier Slovakian team. Slovakia, who drew the easiest
Quarterfinal matchup against Germany, has their biggest test ahead of them.
Team USA Needs More Jack Hughes, Less Matt Tkachuk
In Wednesday’s win over Sweden, both of Team USA’s goals were created or scored by a Hughes brother. Jack Hughes played the least of any of Team USA’s right wings, playing just 13:14 and barely at all in the third period. In the third period, Rangers American Head Coach Mike Sullivan leaned heavily on J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck, who nearly blew the game as some of their poor play led to Sweden’s stunning game-tying goal in the dying minutes of the third. Team USA, who looked dominant when possessing the puck in the offensive zone, suddenly startled to sink into a turtle shell.
Matthew Tkachuk did not help matters. He played the second-most of the right wings behind Matt Boldy, playing 17:25, which was nearly two minutes more than his younger brother, Brady.
Here’s the problem: Brady Tkachuk is healthy and active. Matthew Tkachuk is clearly compromised and not 100% from his injury.
Per Dimitri Filipovic’s Olympic tracking data, Jack Hughes was second on Team USA in creating scoring chances against Sweden. Matthew Tkachuk was tied with J.T. Miller for the second-least.
Is Slovakia a powerhouse? No. Can they let up today and just let Tkachuk shuffle through his shifts? No. Can they let him play 17-18 minutes if they get through to Canada? Absolutely not. I do not care how much Matthew Tkachuk loves America: he is not playing nearly as well as a healthy Matthew Tkachuk can play. The division in scoring chances very clearly paints the “ideal lines” as something like this, if nobody changed position (though I think, at this point, Jack should be playing center).
Guentzel — Eichel — Hughes
B. Tkachuk — Matthews — Boldy
M. Tkachuk — Larkin — Thompson
Miller — Nelson — Keller
Is that going to happen? Almost assuredly not. Should it? Yes. If you were worried that Jack Hughes can’t keep up with the best, this tournament should throw that idea out the window and into a ravine. He is regularly at the tops of these scoring chance trackers despite playing among the fewest minutes on the team, and he is probably even the best defensive winger on Team USA. I constantly see him making little plays in the defensive zone to get the puck out more quickly, but he is barely rewarded by Mike Sullivan for clearly deserving more ice time.
Get the Hughes brothers on the ice, and Team USA will win.
Watching Nemo
Of course, our eyes will also be on Simon Nemec today. He has been a game-changer for Slovakia on the blueline, and this will be his biggest test against a tough American team. For Nemec, he is going to have to skate his hardest today and not let any of the Americans line him up. So far, he has two points in four games, but he has eaten a ton of minutes and provided the kind of support that Juraj Slafkovsky and Dalibor Dvorsky have needed to make things happen up front.
I will also have my eye on Adam Ruzicka today. Ruzicka has spent the last two seasons in the KHL, but this always seemed more like something stemming from personal issues (that the Coyotes and NHL did not get him help for, likely in violation of the CBA) rather than his skills or abilities. He is only 26 years old, and he certainly has that NHL fourth line size at 6’4” and 230 pounds. After Ruzicka’s incident in 2024, the Slovak Ice Hockey Association gave him a ban from that year’s World Championships, but he has been able to get back in their graces for these games. I can only hope that Ruzicka has been successful at getting healthier on his own, and I am going to be watching how he matches up against Jack Eichel with Slafkovsky on his wing.
Your Thoughts
What do you think of today’s game? How do you think Slovakia will match up against Team USA? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
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