Keller, Thompson soaking in Olympic experience with Team USA

MILAN -- Clayton Keller and Tage Thompson didn't play for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off last season. Keller has appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs once in his NHL career. Thompson has never experienced the NHL playoffs.

Now they were on the third line for Team USA at practice Tuesday -- Keller on the left, Thompson on the right, with Dylan Larkin at center -- preparing to play single-elimination, best-on-best hockey at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

The U.S. will play in the quarterfinals at Santagiulia Arena on Wednesday (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, NBC, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, SN, TSN) against Team Sweden or Team Latvia, which play in the qualification playoffs Tuesday.

"This is what you live for, those games that mean something, big challenge, when there's a lot on the line," Thompson said. "I think that's why we all play the game, is to play in those important games and to be a difference-maker."

When U.S. general manager Bill Guerin and his staff assembled the roster, they highly valued the chemistry the Americans developed at 4 Nations, when they went to overtime of the championship game before losing to Canada 3-2. Of the 25 U.S. players at the Olympics, 21 played at 4 Nations.

Keller and Thompson were logical choices to add to a tight group. They played at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, and they helped the United States win gold at the 2025 IIHF World Championship. They have gotten to know everyone better at the Olympic Village.

"There's not a lot to do but hang out with the guys, and I think that gets you closer as a team," Thompson said. "Obviously, most of these guys were together at 4 Nations. They've been great to me. I know a lot of them from prior to this too, so I think that helps, but I think it's been great so far."

Thompson leads the Buffalo Sabres with 59 points (30 goals, 29 assists) in 57 games this season and is tied for eighth in the NHL in goals with Detroit Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat.

He had two goals in three games in the preliminary round, tied for second on Team USA with forwards Brock Nelson and Brady Tkachuk. Only captain Auston Matthews has more (three).

In a 5-1 win against Latvia on Thursday, he took a pass from center Jack Eichel on the power play at the side of the net, pulled in the puck and backhanded it high short side, an impressive display of agility for a 6-foot-6 man.

In a 5-1 win against Team Germany on Sunday, he blasted a slap shot from the high slot like he was in the hardest-shot competition at NHL Skills.

"You see his bomb," Larkin said. "Like, no one else scores from out there."

Keller leads the Utah Mammoth with 54 points (17 goals, 37 assists) in 57 games this season. He didn't play for Team USA in the first two games, then got into the lineup against Germany. He said he noticed how upbeat the bench was even amid adversity.

"Everyone was so together," he said. "That was something that definitely stood out to me. I think that gives you energy, confidence. That's, like, the bench that you want to be a part of, and we've got to keep it going moving forward."

Keller had no points in 9:51 of ice time. But coach Mike Sullivan said he played well, and if the lines at practice hold, he'll play in the quarterfinals.

"He has good offensive instincts," Sullivan said. "I think he has good instincts away from the puck also, just his ability to play within structure. His panic threshold with the puck is really high.

"He hangs onto pucks down low. For a guy that's undersized (at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds), he's pretty stiff on the puck, and his ability to create separation to make the next play is really good. His later agility in tight space, he's not easy to handle. I thought he made an impact on that line."

Larkin, captain of the Red Wings, compared Keller to former Red Wings center Henrik Zetterberg in how he could control the pace of the game when the puck's on his stick, and he lauded his vision.

"When he has it, you better get open, because he's going to find you if you are," Larkin said.

After the Olympics, Keller and Thompson might get to play for the Stanley Cup. The Mammoth hold the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference; the Sabres hold the first wild card in the Eastern Conference. Experiencing single elimination in Milan should serve them well.

"That's the most fun games," Keller said. "The ones that you watch as a kid are these ones, so super exciting."