New York Rangers forwards J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck will have a chance for Olympic gold after their penalty-killing efforts helped Team USA defeat Slovakia 6-2 on Friday in the second semifinal game at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Trocheck had his third assist of the tournament on Brady Tkachuk's third-period goal and teamed with Miller as the lead penalty-killing unit as the Americans limited Slovakia to one shot and no goals in five chances.
They, their teammates, Rangers coach Mike Sullivan and assistant David Quinn will have the chance to go home with a gold medal when they face Canada in the championship game on Sunday. Canada rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat Finland 3-2 in the first semifinal on Nathan MacKinnon's power-play goal with 36 seconds remaining in the third period.
There wasn't nearly as much drama in this one. Two of the Rangers' Metropolitan Division nemeses, New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (two goals) and Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (three assists) led Team USA's offense, The Americans led 5-0 after 40 minutes and coasted the rest of the way.
Trocheck and Miller saw much of their ice time in the first two periods on the penalty kill, where they helped stay perfect through five games. Team USA is 15-for-15, the only team that hasn't allowed a power-play goal. Trocheck ended up with one assist and was plus-1 in 15:19; Miller had one shot on goal and was even in 14:41.
The Slovaks won Group B and whipped Germany 6-2 in the quarterfinals, but they were outgunned from the start. The Americans' mix of physicality and skill enabled them to dominate play practically from the opening face-off, giving Slovakia little time or space to set up an attack.
Team USA capitalized on a bad line change by Slovakia to grab the lead at 4:19 of the opening period. Dylan Larkin found open ice down the left side in the neutral zone, took a long feed from Werenski, raced in and beat goaltender Samuel Hlavaj with a snap shot from the left circle. The Detroit Red Wings' captain opened the scoring for the second straight game; he also had the first goal in Team USA's 2-1 overtime win against Sweden in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Miller and Trocheck then helped the U.S. kill off two penalties to preserve the lead before the Americans got their first chance with the extra man when Milos Keleman was called for tripping at 19:02. They needed just 17 seconds to double their lead when Jack Eichel found Tage Thompson in the lower left circle. Thompson's shot to the short side hit Hlavaj's shoulder and went into the net.
Team USA took over the game with two goals in 19 seconds midway through the second period after Trocheck and Miller helped the Americans kill off two more penalties without allowing a shot on goal.
Hughes made it 3-0 at 12:14 when he evaded two defenders before beating Hlavaj from the slot. Eichel's quick backhander at 12:33 gave Team USA a 4-0 lead and ended Hlavaj's evening.
But his replacement, Stanislav Skorvanek, didn't fare any better. Hughes scored his second of the game at 18:24, taking Werenski's right-point miss off the end boards and one-timing it into the net from the lower left circle for a 5-0 lead. It capped a second period that saw the U.S. outshoot Slovakia 15-5.
The Slovaks got on the board 4:55 into the third period on a goal by Juraj Slafkovsky, who was taken by the Montreal Canadiens with the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. But after Skorvanek stopped Tkachuk on one breakaway, the Ottawa Senators' captain took a feed from Trocheck, went in alone and scored on a backhander at 10:52.
Pavol Regenda beat Connor Hellebuyck at 13:17, but the Slovaks got no closer.
The U.S.-Canada showdown will be a rematch of the gold medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, when Canada won 3-2 in overtime on the "Golden Goal" by Sidney Crosby.
However, Team Canada's captain and longtime Rangers nemesis during his 21 NHL seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins sat out the win against the Finns with a lower-body injury, and it's unknown whether he'll be able to play Sunday.
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