Scores and questions from the USA Hockey Team’s win against Latvia

Team USA won its opening game at the 2026 Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament, defeating Latvia 5-1.

The match was not without some excitement, as the first period witnessed two successful challenges to the coach from Latvia, which led to the United States’ goals being wiped off the board.

But after that, the ice seemed to tip in the Americans’ favor, and goals from Tjae Thompson, Auston Matthews and a brace from Brock Nelson made the difference.

Here’s what we learned in the opener, plus the team’s overall grade and the big questions to ponder ahead of Team USA’s matchup against Denmark on Saturday.

Takeaway 1: Who did it better, the Hugheses or the Tkachuks?

There will be some players that every team must rely on if they want to win. Team USA is no different, and that’s what makes both the Hughes brothers and Tkachuk so crucial.

Let’s start with the Hughes brothers. Quinn may be the most important player on the roster. He is a top-notch defenseman who can be trusted in all situations. This was demonstrated against Latvia, where he finished with a team-high 21:29 of ice time and recorded two assists. Jack opened the game on the fourth line and also finished with a pair of assists.

What about Tkachuk? Fitness was a topic Thursday, and Tkachuk was at the heart of why it was a factor. But there is much more to their special games than being powerful strikers. That’s why they were up front alongside Jack Eichel, who created a combination that used size, speed and skill to present Latvia with numerous problems throughout the match. Brady scored the game’s opening goal, while Matthew added a pair of assists.

Takeaway 2: Does Mike Sullivan have a decision to make on his lines?

We’ll get to Brooke Nelson’s solo exploits here soon. Because Nelson’s contributions showed how much of its Fourth Line was acquired by the United States. Nelson anchored the line that included Jack Hughes and JT Miller, scoring twice (and could have scored more).

The younger Hughes brother had a pair of assists while Miller’s contributions were a bit more complex. Miller set up Quinn Hughes’ first-half goal which was one of two goals disallowed. He was also on top of what became the second disallowed goal which was again called for goalie interference. Miller had the most ice time of the trio, at just over 12 minutes while each of his teammates finished with just over 11 minutes in their first game.

Will we see some tweaking in the matches against Denmark and Germany, or will Sullivan stick with what has worked?

It’s all coming, Brooke. Nelson. #Winter Olympics pic.twitter.com/yy7xGkXiR0

– NBC Olympics and Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2026

Takeaway 3: The fatigue factor

One of the key themes of the 4 Nations Face-Off was speed, especially in the final with Canada and the United States

This pace was a factor in the first four minutes of this match, part of an approach that tired Latvia in more ways than one. The combination of that speed, physicality and possession saw Latvia eventually go from a team that tied the game at 1-1 to a team that struggled to keep going in the last 40 minutes. There were penalties. There were the goals that came from those sanctions. There were those long turnovers that allowed the United States to dictate in a way that was influential in why they were able to score four unanswered goals.

Can the USA do it against other teams? That could be possible against other countries that have a mix of NHLers and non-NHLers, but what we saw from Canada on Thursday suggests they’ll be able to keep up.

Player of the Match: Brock Nelson, midfielder

There are the two goals he scored. There were also two goals barely register; One off the post, and one disallowed for goalie interference.

Either way, Nelson had the most memorable and powerful performance of any player on Team USA.

Naturally, the talk about Nelson’s match will revolve around his contribution to achieving the goals. But there’s also a point to be made about how he was always in position with the ability to use his 6-foot-4 frame to create openings in a physical game against Latvia.

Will the USA score more goals against Denmark?

Being the favorites to win the gold is why we’ve had one eye on Team USA and one eye on Canada throughout this preliminary round.

Canada achieved its first victory over the Czech Republic 5-0, turning the focus to the United States in its match later on Thursday. The answer was a 5-1 win.

Now it’s a matter of seeing if Team USA can pull it off in their next game on Saturday against Denmark. The Danes were playing at the same time as the USA and lost 3-1 to Germany, although they finished with 38 shots.

Overall team grade: A-

Team USA’s only real blemish in their opening game was the only goal they allowed due to a scramble in the front net. But beyond that, the Americans controlled every aspect of the opener.

Those disallowed goals combined with Latvia’s equalizer created a somewhat weak start. But the four unanswered goals – combined with the way the United States flexed its skills and power – made it extremely difficult for Latvia to find a chance.