MILAN — Behind a flurry of goals and near-constant control of the puck, the U.S. cruised through the men's hockey semifinal at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday to keep alive its dream of winning its first Olympic gold medal since 1980.
The U.S. scored twice in the first period and added three more goals in the second period on its way to dispatching Slovakia, 6-2, at Santagiulia arena.
Dylan Larkin opened the scoring after just five minutes, with Tage Thompson extending the lead to 2-0. A gold medal showdown with Canada on Sunday became clear in the second period after Jack Hughes and Jack Eichel scored 19 seconds apart for a 4-0 lead. Hughes would add his second goal of the game six minutes later, which sent some fans leaving to catch an early bus away from the arena on the city's outskirts.
Hours earlier, Canada overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat Finland, 3-2, and advance to the gold medal game, where it will attempt to win the country's 10th Olympic gold medal in men's hockey.
"It’s going to be a great game," Matthews, who has spent all 10 years of his NHL career playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs, said.
“I think last year you kind of saw the two games we played how tight it was and how fast and competitive both teams are,” he said. “It’s going to be an amazing test for us.”
The U.S., meanwhile, has not played for gold since 2010. In the first Winter Olympics since 2014 to feature NHL players, both the Canadian and U.S. rosters are composed entirely of players from NHL rosters. The final will come three days after the two countries played in the women's hockey gold medal game, which the U.S. won after staging a dramatic comeback.
There was no such rally Friday.
Though Slovakia beat U.S. goaltender Connor Hellebuyck twice in the third period, it was far too little to overcome its massive deficit. Brady Tkachuk then added a goal to the U.S. tally in the third period for good measure.
The anticlimactic nature of the semifinal sets up a final super-charged with pressure on the U.S. to win its first gold since the famed "Miracle On Ice" team in 1980. The only other U.S. gold came in 1960.
"The outside pressure and all the things that are going on, I think we've been doing a good job of staying within ourselves," Eichel said.
"It's one game, that's all it comes down to is one game left, playing against Canada, who's given us trouble, especially in the big ones," Larkin said. "It's really what it's all about. There's been a lot of talk but now it comes down to a 60-minute hockey game Olympic final. It's as good as it gets."
Sunday's gold-medal game will come 24 years after Keith Tkachuk, the father of Brady and his U.S. teammate and brother, Matthew, lost to Canada in the 2002 gold-medal game. Brady said he hadn't heard too many stories about what to expect Sunday, but he understands the stakes.
"Basically all I’ve heard is that there’s just a lot of regret if you don’t win," Brady Tkachuk.
