Just after former New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson finished off a tic-tac-toe passing play to put Team USA hockey ahead by three late in the second period on Thursday, the broadcast cut to a Latvian fan, his head down.
That image almost perfectly summarized how the second half of the second period had gone.
Latvia couldn’t escape before they conceded a third U.S. goal in the middle frame. After holding the U.S. to a 1-1 deadlock through the first half of Thursday’s game, the floodgates had opened. The Americans would cruise to a 5-1 win in their first game of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The picturesque passing play that resulted in Nelson’s second tally left Latvian goaltender Elvis Merzļikins sprawling. He had no chance to stop Nelson, who tapped the puck into a yawning net.
That goal came mere minutes after Tage Thompson put the U.S. in control by roofing a backhanded shot short-side past Merzļikins on an American power play.
The U.S. came to life in the second period after a rocky start to Thursday’s game. The U.S. had two disallowed goals in the first period, both as a result of Latvian coach’s challenges.
The first disallowed goal swung the Americans’ early momentum. Ninety seconds after Brady Tkachuk opened the scoring early in the first period, Quinn Hughes’ goal was called off after it was ruled that Nelson was offside entering the zone.
Less than a minute later, Renars Krastenbergs tied the game at one.
The U.S. appeared to re-take the lead later in the opening frame as Nelson tipped in a Brock Faber point shot. The Latvians again challenged, this time for goalie interference as New York Rangers forward J.T. Miller was in the crease. This goal was also called back, as Latvia went 2-for-2 on challenges.
Nelson broke the 1-1 tie just over halfway through the second period, taking a pass from Jack Hughes and beating Merzļikins with a deke to the backhand.
Arturs Silovs — who led Latvia to a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championship with a 7-3-0 record and a 2.20 goals-against average — replaced Merzļikins for the third period, after the latter allowed four goals on 32 shots. He was beaten by U.S. captain Auston Matthews on the power play early in the final frame, as the Americans took a 5-1 lead.
U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 16 of the 17 shots he faced.
The U.S. will return to action on Saturday against Denmark. Puck drop is at 3:10 p.m. ET.
