3 takeaways from Team USA men’s hockey’s OT win over Sweden in Olympics

Dylan Larkin also scored for the Americans, who suddenly found themselves on the ropes after Mika Zibanejad scored the equalizer for Sweden with just 1:31 left in regulation.

Team USA now advances to the semifinal round of the Olympic tournament, where they will take on Slovakia. Puck drop is set for 3:10 p.m. EST on Friday. 

Team Canada — who beat Czechia in overtime, 4-3, earlier on Wednesday — will battle Finland in the other semifinal game on Friday at 10:40 a.m. 

Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s win for Team USA:

Hughes saves Team USA from embarrassing result

Team Canada still stands as the gold-medal favorite entering the final two rounds of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Games. 

And, the U.S. was dealt a tough hand in that their quarterfinal matchup was against a seven-seeded Sweden team that, while underachieving during group-stage play, was still littered with elite NHL talent. 

Still, a loss for Team USA on Wednesday would have been catastrophic for an U.S. program that has seemingly been building toward a gold-medal run for the first time in decades. 

Hughes’ snipe in overtime spared the Americans from a painful flight back from Italy — and years of soul-searching over whether or not this team wasted what could be their best shot at finally supplanting Canada on the international stage.

As soon as Hughes’ sharp wrister sailed past Sweden goalie Jacob Markström, both Team USA coach Mike Sullivan and general manager Bill Guerin likely took a deep exhale. 

Sullivan’s decision to try and pack things in defensively to outlast Sweden’s late push backfired once Zibanejad finally beat Connor Hellebuyck after the Swedes pulled Markström in favor of an extra skater.

Guerin’s roster construction also could have been taken to task had his team lost to Sweden in a low-scoring affair.

While both teams snuffed out several Grade-A chances in front of their goalies by way of blocks, deflections, and a committed defensive game, the Americans’ decisions to leave proven scorers like Cole Caufield (32 goals in 57 games) and Jason Robertson (32 goals in 57 games) off the Olympic roster loomed large on a night where the Americans couldn’t get much going in the offensive zone. 

Thankfully for Guerin and Co., those questions will be quelled for at least another few days due to Hughes, who has been a game-changing presence on the blue line this tournament. 

Hughes’ impact has been evident after missing the 4 Nations Face-Off last February due to injury, with the former Norris Trophy winner both scoring the game-winner and assisting on Larkin’s tally in the second period of play on Wednesday. 

Hughes logged a team-leading 27:31 of ice time for Team USA against the Swedes, including 2:03 of the 3:27 of overtime. 

“He’s incredible,” Charlie McAvoy told The Boston Globe of Hughes’ impact. “With his skating, his stickhandling, he’s able to create something out of nothing there and win us that hockey game kind of all by himself.”

As dynamic as Canada’s Cale Makar might be on the blue line, Hughes is right there next to him when it comes to identifying the premier playmaking D-men in the hockey world. 

Through five games this tournament, Hughes has scored a goal and added five assists. Only two defensemen have posted more points at a single Olympics with NHL players: Sweden’s Erik Karlsson (eight points in 2014) and USA’s Brian Rafalski (eight points in 2010).

McAvoy doles out plenty of pain 

For the first time since Nov. 15, Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy took to the ice without a face shield — shedding the bubble that protected his surgically repaired jaw that was shattered months ago.

The Boston blueliner wasn’t tepid in his first game without that protective gear, doling out crushing hits against Sweden’s Joel Eriksson Ek, Gabriel Landeskog, Adrian Kempe, and Lucas Raymond on Wednesday.

McAvoy, who has primarily skated alongside Hughes on Team USA’s top D pairing, finished third on the Americans in ice time (19:22), trailing only Hughes and North Chelmsford native Jack Eichel (21:24). 

An alternate captain for the U.S., McAvoy has carved out a valuable role on the international stage as the American’s go-to shutdown option and bruising D-man. 

Even though McAvoy has taken another step forward this season with Boston as a potent playmaker (39 points in 45 games), he’s showcased his value as a defensive equalizer with Team USA when paired by a dynamic puck-mover. 

Be it skating with Hughes during the ‘26 Olympics or lighting up skaters as a menacing rover while on a pairing with Zach Werenski during the 4 Nations Face-Off, McAvoy has raised his stock as one of the few premier defensemen in the league whose physicality and D-zone acumen are more than just complementary pieces of his offensive skillset.

Four Bruins remain in gold-medal mix

Team USA’s triumph came at the detriment of a pair of Bruins skaters on Sweden, as both Elias Lindholm and Hampus Lindholm saw their Olympic experience come to a close Wednesday.

Hampus Lindholm — a late addition to Sweden’s roster due to an injury to Jonas Brodin — rarely played in his first few games of the tournament. That changed on Wednesday, as Lightning captain Victor Hedman did not log a single shift against the U.S. after tweaking something during warmups.

With Hedman out of commission, Lindholm logged 15:48 of ice time on in his place. He was knocked for a tripping penalty that the Americans weren’t able to capitalize on. 

Elias Lindholm finished with 9:36 of ice time on Wednesday, with Boston’s top-six pivot finishing with zero points in four games for Sweden. 

Bruins star winger David Pastrnak will also leave Italy without any Olympic hardware, as Czechia couldn’t seal the deal and bounce Canada earlier on Wednesday.

Pastrnak — who was Czechia’s flag-bearer for the ‘26 Olympics opening ceremony — scored a power-play goal on Wednesday. He finished tournament action with two goals and five total points in five games.

Along with McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman with Team USA, two other Bruins remain in the running for a goal medal with Team Finland. 

Defenseman Henri Jokiharju played 6:49 and landed one shot on goal in Finland’s 3-2 comeback win over Switzerland on Wednesday. Joonas Korpisalo has slotted behind Finland’s Juuse Saros in net during Olympic play.

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.

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