The U.S. men's hockey team dismantled Slovakia 6-2 in the semifinal round of the Olympic tournament on Friday.
Team USA will face Canada in the gold medal game on Sunday, a final that's been anticipated since it was announced that NHL players were returning to compete at the 2026 Olympics.
"I think it's what everyone wanted, this matchup in the gold medal game, and I've thought about it a lot," Dylan Larkin said after the game.
The U.S. narrowly escaped the quarterfinal round with a 2-1 overtime victory over Finland on Wednesday, and in Friday's meeting with Slovakia it was clear they weren't letting this one be decided in crunch time.
Larkin got on the board for the United States just over four minutes into the game to give the Americans a 1-0 lead for most of the first period. It was the second time in a row that the Detroit Red Wings star opened the scoring for his team.
“It was great to see us get off to a fast start and I thought that was important,” U.S. head coach Mike Sullivan said. “Our group continues to take steps forward and it's a really fun team to coach with an awful lot of personality.”
Tage Thompson added a cushion with less than a minute to go in the first on the power play, to lead the team into the locker room up 2-0 over Slovakia.
In the second, it was 24-year-old Jack Hughes who took over the game.
Just over a dozen minutes into the period, it was Hughes who sent the Stars and Stripes on a scoring spree they would run away with.
"I believe in myself more than anyone," Hughes said after the game. "Wherever I was slotted coming into this thing, I knew I was going to play well. I am happy to be contributing and am happy that we have a chance at a gold medal."
Next, the U.S. went back-to-back with the Jacks. Jack Eichel scored nine seconds after Hughes on a backhanded goal off a setup from brothers Brady and Matthew Tkachuk.
And then, it was Jack again. Hughes scored his second goal in six minutes to put the U.S. up 5-0 over the Slovakian squad.
"We believe this is the best group in the whole tournament and the best group in the world," Hughes said. "We are proud Americans, and we are excited to have a chance at the gold medal."
Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky and the San Jose Sharks' Pavol Regenda prevented the shutout for Slovakia, tallying a goal each in the loss.
Brady Tkachuk scored the sixth and final U.S. goal of the game on a beautiful breakaway. Zach Werenski added three assists in the win, including on both of Hughes' goals.
The USA-Canada gold medal game on Sunday will be only the third time the two countries have met in the Olympics when NHL players have competed. Canada won both of the previous meetings (2002, 2010).
“When we started this journey last summer and got together for an orientation camp, our goal was to be in the gold medal game," Eichel said after the win. "Here we are, we’re going to find out who the best team at the Olympics is.”
Reuters contributed to this article.