5 things learned from Day 10 of men's hockey at Olympics

MILAN -- The semifinals of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 were Friday.

Team Canada and Team USA advanced to the gold medal game Sunday (8:10 a.m. ET; Peacock, NBC, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, CBC, SN [JIP], TSN [JIP], RDS2); Team Finland and Team Slovakia will play for the bronze on Saturday (2:40 p.m. ET; Peacock, USA, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, CBC [JIP]).

NHL.com is on site in Milan and will provide insights and observations each day.

Here are 5 things learned from Day 10 of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympics:

The U.S. keeps getting better

Forward Vincent Trocheck said after the 6-2 win against Slovakia on Friday that the U.S. is getting better with every game, every practice, every shift. And it’s obvious. A team that looked somewhat uneven in its first two preliminary games and barely got by Team Sweden in the quarterfinals looked like a well-oiled machine Friday, taking it to the Slovaks from the start and never looking back. If the Americans play this way on Sunday, the gold could be theirs.

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: Slovakia-USA

Jacked up

Jack Hughes started these Olympics on the fourth line for the U.S. but now is playing key minutes and a bigger role. The New Jersey Devils forward scored twice Friday, giving him three goals in five games. He’s been flying all over the ice, using his speed and skill to make things happen. Hughes looked overmatched at times during the 4 Nations Face-Off last year, but not here in Milan. He’s a big reason the U.S. is one game from the gold.

Canada finds a way, and a new line

When Canada absolutely needed a big goal against Finland on Friday, naturally it put out the line of Brad Marchand, Tom Wilson and Sam Bennett. Yes, three players known more for their rough style of play went out with just under 10 minutes left and Canada down by a goal. Bennett won the offensive-zone face-off, Marchand won a battle behind the goal and Wilson took a shot before the puck eventually found its way to Shea Theodore, who scored with a slap shot through traffic to tie the game on the way to a 3-2 win. It was a stroke of genius for Canada coach Jon Cooper.

Stay out of the box against Canada

Finland appeared to be in control against Canada, leading 2-0 in the second period, but Anton Lundell took a high-sticking penalty at 13:35, and Sam Reinhart deflected in a Cale Makar shot 45 seconds later to make it 2-1. Then, with the game seemingly headed to overtime, Niko Mikkola was called for high-sticking at 17:25 of the third period, and Nathan MacKinnon made him and the Finns pay by scoring the winning goal with one second left on the power play. The Finns gave the Canadians life, and essentially the win, by committing the two penalties. The United States, which took five penalties Friday, will need to cut that number down. Putting Canada on the power play is playing with fire.

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: Finland-Canada

There’s always tomorrow

Finland and Slovakia get a second chance on Saturday, playing for the bronze medal after their semifinal losses Friday. Naturally, players from each team were crushed after losing, but they all said they will refocus and try to leave Milan with some hardware. It can’t be easy to come so close to playing for the ultimate prize only to play in the consolation game, but these are professionals, and you can expect a battle for the bronze.