How to watch
Puck drop: 9:30 PM EST / 6:30 PM PST
In Canada: TSN (English,) RDS (French)
In the United States: NHL Network
Live stream: TSN Direct, RDS Direct
The United States returns to Canada looking to claim gold in the home territory of their closest rival for a second year in a row. Their chance to make it a repeat will only come in the seventh game they play, however. First, they have to focus on the games that get them there, starting with the opener.
Normally a team can look at Slovakia as an easy win in the group stage before moving on to tougher opponents, but this year’s iteration is much different. There is some proper talent in this lineup, including what could be three first-round selections in the upcoming draft, and one of the elite players for the 2023 selection. It is a young, inexperienced group, but they may just have the ability to score their way out of some trouble.
The game has the potential to be a big upset if the Slovak skill presents itself and the players can maintain their composure, but the U.S. has done this many times, and may prove just too strong for the young upstarts.
Team USA projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #21 Brett Berard |
#10 Matthew Beniers |
#15 Matt Coronato |
| #89 Matthew Knies |
#18 Logan Cooley |
#34 Carter Mazur |
| #19 Landon Slaggert |
#71 Tanner Dickinson |
#11 Mackie Samoskevich |
| #12 Sasha Pastujov |
#16 Dominic James |
#28 Chaz Lucius |
|
#20 Redmond Savage |
|
Defencemen
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #8 Jake Sanderson |
#2 Ian Moore |
| #5 Wyatt Kaiser |
#14 Brock Faber |
| #25 Tyler Kleven |
#43 Luke Hughes |
| #3 Jack Peart |
|
Goaltenders
| Starter |
Backup |
| #29 Drew Commesso |
#30 Kaidan Mbereko |
Team Slovakia projected lineup
Forwards
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| #11 Matej Kaslik |
#10 Oleksiy Myklukha |
#8 Martin Chromiak |
| #20 Juraj Slafkovsky |
#18 Servac Petrovsky |
#21 Filip Mesar |
| #9 Roman Faith |
#14 Maros Jedlicka |
#15 Dalibor Dvorsky |
| #23 Adam Sykora |
#19 Jakub Demek |
#26 Samuel Krajc |
| #13 Jan Lasak |
|
|
Defencemen
| Left Defence |
Right Defence |
| #16 Marko Stacha |
#12 Samuel Knazko |
| #7 Rayen Petrovicky |
#17 Simon Nemec |
| #3 Simon Becar |
#4 Maxim Strbak |
|
#6 Jozef Kmec |
Goaltenders
| Starter |
Backup |
| #30 Simon Latkoczy |
#1 Tomas Bolo |
