quinn hughes OT lifts Team USA into Olympic men's hockey semifinals
Quinn Hughes delivered a sudden-death heroics that sent the United States into the men’s Olympic hockey semifinals, edging Sweden 2-1 in a tense quarterfinal that went to overtime on Feb. 18, 2026 (ET). The victory kept the American gold-medal bid alive and set up a high-stakes semifinal against Slovakia on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 (ET).
How the game unfolded
The match was a defensive chess match for long stretches, with both goalies preserving scoreless periods well into the second. The U. S. broke through just under nine minutes into the second period when Jack Hughes uncorked a wrister that was redirected by Dylan Larkin and trickled past Sweden’s netminder to make it 1-0. That lead held until late in the third, when Sweden pulled its goalie and capitalized in the extra-attacker period: Mika Zibanejad finished a one-timer set up by Lucas Raymond to knot the game with roughly 100 seconds remaining.
With the contest tied, teams moved to a 3-on-3, 10-minute sudden-death overtime. The Americans missed on their first five attempts in the extra session, but on the sixth shot, Quinn Hughes rang a puck off the inside of the post that crossed the goal line and ended the game, sparking celebration among the U. S. bench and fans.
What the win means for Team USA
The victory is both a momentum builder and a reminder of how thin the margin for error is at this stage. Forward Dylan Larkin summarized the situation bluntly: the semifinal is "do or die, " and he said the roster "have the players to take care of the task. " The comment underscored a blend of confidence and urgency in the locker room after a knockout-round performance that required both composure and a flash of individual brilliance.
Special teams and goaltending will remain focal points. The goaltender who started for the Americans made a string of key stops that kept the team in position to win late. From a roster standpoint, the U. S. leaned on its depth; the contributing goals by Larkin and Hughes came from different lines and highlighted a balanced attack that can be decisive in tight games.
Looking ahead to the semifinal
Team USA will face Slovakia in the semifinal on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026 (ET). With medals on the line, the matchup becomes exactly what Larkin warned: a do-or-die contest that will demand the same mix of discipline, opportunism, and timely finishing that produced the late heroics against Sweden.
For fans and analysts, the win also raises questions about fatigue and lineup management; the Americans will need to recover quickly and fine-tune special-teams execution. Opponents will study the overtime-winning sequence and try to limit space for Hughes and the other puck carriers who created the decisive chance.
In short, Team USA advances with a signature moment from one of its key defensemen. The path to the podium will require repetition of that clutch playmaking, starting with Friday’s semifinal. The identity of the next opponent may change, but the stakes remain unmistakable: one win keeps the gold-medal dream alive, one loss ends it.
