The stage is officially set for the semifinals in men’s ice hockey at the Milan Cortina Olympics. The U.S. secured a berth to the semis after defeating Sweden in a thrilling overtime game, 2–1, on Wednesday.
Team USA is now slated to face Slovakia in the semifinals, with puck drop set for 3:10 p.m. ET on Friday, February 20. A victory on Friday would put the U.S. into the gold medal game, where they’d face the winner of the other semifinals game between Canada and Finland.
The U.S. remains undefeated at the Games and is merely two wins away from claiming the country’s first Olympic men’s ice hockey gold medal since 1980, when the fabled “Miracle on Ice” team won at the Lake Placid Games.
Slovakia is a formidable opponent, having won three of their four games at the Olympics. They defeated Germany 6–2 in the quarterfinals to book their ticket to the semifinals, and have out-scored their opponents 14–10 in Milan. In terms of NHL talent, Slovakia has seven active NHL players on the roster, including standout forward Juraj Slafkovsky, who has seven points at the Olympics.
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Let’s make some bold predictions for the game.
Team USA will get the offense back on track with five-plus goals
The U.S. offense was held at bay against Sweden, failing to score on either of its power play opportunities and only getting one goal past Jacob Markstrom during the 60 minutes of regulation on Wednesday. Quinn Hughes’s overtime winner was the difference against Sweden in what was Team USA’s lowest scoring game at the Olympics.
I think the offense will bounce back from its lackluster performance against Sweden with a big game against Slovakia. I’m expecting the U.S. to score at least five goals, and I think they’ll get at least one goal in every period of the game.
Auston Matthews will score two goals
Matthews has been one of Team USA’s best players at the Olympics, racking up six points in four games. He leads the team with three goals, tied for fourth-most among all skaters at the Games, and I’m expecting him to add to that tally on Friday with a pair of goals against Slovakia.
I think the U.S. will dominate the puck for much of the game, and in doing so they’ll likely get multiple opportunities on the power play. Matthews has already scored two goals on the power play so far in Milan, and I’m expecting him to get at least one power play goal in Friday’s game.
Connor Hellebuyck won’t surrender a goal against Slovakia
Hellebuyck was arguably Team USA’s most important player in the narrow win against Sweden. It took more than 57 minutes for Sweden to finally get a goal past him, and he made some big saves throughout the game. He’s surrendered just three goals in Milan, despite facing 68 shots in three games. The U.S. might not have made it out of the quarterfinals without his big game on Wednesday, and I think he’ll answer the call once again on Friday in the semifinals.
I don’t expect Slovakia to rack up too many shots against the U.S., and I’m predicting Hellebuyck will keep them off the score sheet for all 60 minutes. I think it’ll be a shutout win for the United States, with Hellebuyck staving off 15 or more shots.
Final score prediction: Team USA 5, Slovakia 0
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Team USA vs. Slovakia: Three Bold Predictions for Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Semifinals.
