Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is set to represent the United States at his first Olympic Games. Matthews was drafted first overall by the Maple Leafs in 2016 and has played for the NHL team ever since. He has won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league’s leading goal scorer three times and won the 2021-22 Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP.

Now, the fastest American-born player to 400 goals is set to take the Olympic stage for the first time after captaining Team USA in last year’s thrilling 4 Nations Face-Off.

Keep reading to find out how to watch the American hockey player in his first Olympic appearance.

Hockey at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will air on NBC, CNBC, and USA Network, and stream live on Peacock and NBC Sports platforms starting on Thursday, Feb. 5. 

• Dates: Feb. 5 - 22
• Medal events: Men's and women's
• Venue: Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena
• TV channels: NBC, CNBC, USA Network
• Streaming: Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, NBC app, NBC Sports app 

Visit NBCOlympics.com/FAQ for more information on watching the 2026 Winter Olympics, including links to download the NBC, NBC Sports and Peacock apps.

Olympic hockey competition will take place from Thursday, Feb. 5 to Sunday, Feb. 22, with Auston Matthews and Team USA expected to play from Feb. 12 onward:

• Team USA's first game in the men's tournament: Thursday, Feb. 12
• Gold medal game: Sunday, Feb. 22

The complete hockey schedule, including TV listings, also is available on the NBC Olympics schedule page. 

All live streams also are available to watch on mobile, tablet and connected TV devices via the Peacock, NBC and NBC Sports apps.

Live and tape-delayed coverage of hockey will be shown on the following TV channels: NBC, CNBC and USA Network

The full TV listings for hockey can be found on the NBCOlympics.com schedule page by clicking the toggle at the top to “TV Only.”  

If you missed any of the live action, you can catch up by watching the full event replays on the NBCOlympics.com Replays hub. 

This is Matthews' first Olympic Games, as he made his NHL debut two years after the last time NHL players participated in the Olympics back in 2014. Matthews has previously represented Team USA at the World Junior Championships as well as last year's 4 Nations Face-Off. He also competed at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey as part of Team North America, a team comprised of American and Canadian players aged 23-and-under.

Matthews scored his 400th NHL goal on April 15, 2025, becoming the sixth fastest NHL player to reach the mark and the fastest by an American-born player. His 69 goals in the 2021-22 season by any player since the 1992-93 season. On January 3, 2026, Matthews scored his 421st goal to pass Mats Sundin as the all-time leading goalscorer in the 108-season history of the Toronto Maple Leafs.